#i wasn't able to see it cause of the clouds. but hey i got an excuse to share this TofS story lore thingy

[tales-of-snaktooth]

Snak Eye Sky

Snak Eye Skies are a rare occurrence on the Tooth Islands. The sun will temporarily be replaced by that of a giant Snak eye (as most may have been told at least, some believe it’s something completely different), dimming the landscape, instantly turning a bright sunny day into that of dusk.

During this time, grumpuses must avert their eyes, bow down their heads, and whisper their praises and thanks for being able to survive on the island due to the plentiful Bugsnax. Grumpuses must not look directly at the Eye, or else judgment will occur, as well as a curse.

Once this short period of time is over, grumpuses are allowed to continue with their regular activities.

There are still many questions to have about this occurrence, but it’s said that one specific grump’s experience with a Snak Eye Sky had lead to possibly the most influential moment in Snaktooth Island’s history.

The Hunter

Hundreds of years ago, a Falls Valley grumpus was out hunting for Bugsnax in the blazing sun. They spent their time; perhaps too much of it, hiding perfectly in the shadows, waiting to ambush the next unsuspecting Snak that crosses their path.

After what felt like an eternity, they were alerted by the faint call of a strabby. At an instant, they sprung out from their hiding spot, and grasped the Snak in their claws. Finally, something to bring back home! But…thanks to this Snak, they had wasted so much time waiting around under a tree, and just for a small bug like this?

They’re lucky the sun’s still out…

So, in an act of pure spite and frustration, they dug their claws into the juicy flesh of the strabby, and yanked its wobbly eyes clean out.

The strabby was distressed, crying out and wriggling in their paws; it was probably the first time The Hunter had ever seen a Bugsnak in such disarray. They didn’t even act like this while being eaten! This odd occurrence hadn’t bothered them, though. They were going to eat it anyway, there was no use in worrying about whether or not it could see it happen.

They were finally ready to head back home, when suddenly the world around them seemed to get…dimmer? But it was the middle of the day? The sun was shining on their fur just a moment ago, what happened? Annoyed, The Hunter looked up to see if some grumpling was playing some prank on them.

But the sight they saw was no grumpling, or any sort of grumpus…

It was horrifying.

As if the sun itself had vanished right above their head. That blazing, bringer of day, was gone, replaced by some sort of ring of light surrounding pure darkness. Like an eye—a Bugsnak eye—staring down at them, judging them.

They were getting judged, by some higher being. The Hunter’s fur had bristled like a pine from The Woods, terrified yet entranced by the sight. They stood there, staring straight up until they ended up fainting from the shock of it all.

Waking up after who knows how long, finding their way back home was an incredibly difficult task. Their eyesight had degraded terribly, as if that Snak Eye had put a curse on them. But once they recognized that they were deep in the familiar territory of Falls Valley, they knew they had to alert their leader immediately, and that he in return should notify the rest of the island’s grumpuses as well.

An island-wide gathering was held deep in the night. Thousands of tired grumpuses were confused and aggravated, but The Hunter—The Cursed Hunter and their leader knew their experience needed to be shared to all of the island’s inhabitants. Once they had recounted their horrifying hunt, a number of grumpuses in the crowd were skeptical, but a vast majority were intrigued in their tale, with a few backing up their claim of that strange sudden nightfall in the middle of the day.

When asked what this would mean for the future of grumpus society, The Cursed Hunter exclaimed that this was due to the collective disrespect and selfishness of all the island’s grumpuses. That they have all; especially The Cursed Hunter themselves, had taken the Bugsnax for granted, and they must all pay their dues or else the island won’t stop at cursing one foolish grumpus. This explosion might might've just been a delirious, sleep deprived, post-supernatural-experience rant from The Cursed Hunter, but the Falls Valley leader agreed with everything they had said. He ended up making the call to set an island wide obligation to worship the Snax, as they now all know the immense power these creatures hold.

Many grumpuses were rightfully upset and shocked that he was willing to make a call that the entire island; not just his own territory, should follow, but the other territory leaders had chosen to go along with his decision. Both due to the power the Falls Valley territory has compared to the rest, and the possible power the Bugsnax also have. This wasn’t a risk they were willing to take for their alliance and their subjects.

While the rest of the territory leaders had openly agreed to these new laws, a few had doubts on how beneficial these will actually be for the future of the island and the grumpuses themselves. Specifically the call to hold monthly, day long ceremonies focused solely on the worship of Bugsnax and end with the sacrifice of a grumpus, which definitely shocked a number of grumpuses in the crowd and a few leaders as well. But the Falls Valley leader assured them all that it was a necessary precaution to take to insure the safety of the entire island from whatever power had harmed The Cursed Hunter. And that if any other Snak Eye Skies ever occur again, grumpuses will now know what to do to prevent the possibility of judgment and curses.

The island wide gathering was dismissed, and thousands of grumpus prepared to wake up to a completely new life the next day.

Currently, while the Bugsnak Worshiping laws have either loosened or intensified in certain territories, many grumpuses still pass on the story of The Cursed Hunter and the Snak Eye Sky, ways to remember how much power these strange creatures have over them.

[indecisivemuch]

hii first of all luv the username cause as a libra rising, samedt ;-; i'd like to make a request for a luke x f!reader fic pls!! um, so they're best friends, and luke decides to confess to r by giving her gifts, letters, trinkets, etc. with hints about his identity, but she doesn't know who they're from. so she asks for luke's help to find out about the identity of her secret admirer. but what if there's like a mistaken identity and she thinks it's someone from the hermes cabin (maybe chris? or one of the stoll brothers idk) and luke's just all pouty but nonchalant or something, but deep down he's like 'how do i even make her see' or something (while also second guessing that maybe he shouldn't confess it's him) like fluff with tiny angst :>

Message in a Bottle

Pairing: Luke Castellan x Reader

Summary: You got a secret admirer and recruited Luke to help you find out who they are...ignoring the most obvious option (Fluff, angst, best friends to lovers, happy ending)

Note: I'm so sorry for the six month hiatus. It wasn't by choice, I swear 😭. So many bad things kept happening that prevented me from writing (is this the writers curse people kept talking about?). Also, the request wanted only a sprinkle of angst, but I kinda got out of hand with it I think 😭 (sorry).

Word count: 4.4k (whoops)

You’ve always thought that too much of something is bad. Yet, ever since the day your life intertwined with Luke Castellan’s, you weren’t very sure about that anymore. 

The two of you arrived at camp around the same time, entering a friendship that felt like hitting the jackpot. Your early days together were something that you both treasured dearly. Every time you thought a certain time period would someday be reminisced as the golden days of your friendships, new things would come, and top it off. 

However, golden skies were soon evaded by clouds of pink hues. You found yourself noticing and appreciating small details you haven’t noticed before about your best friend. Initially, you acknowledged the growing feeling but decided that they better remain as footnotes in chapters of your life. However, fate’s design was different to your plans, because two years later, here you were: you looked at him almost in the same way a fool would look at the world with rose-colored glasses (but then again, maybe it was because you have learned to embrace and adore his flaws).

“Luke!”

The Hermes cabin counselor snapped his head towards the sound of your voice, eyes straying from his duty of the hour. A smile began forming on his face as you came to view, almost like he has always been programmed to do so. There was a certain spring in your steps. Moments like these made Luke feel like he was a minimalist because your happiness was somehow enough to guarantee his own. 

You situated yourself next to Luke on the ground, not minding the dirt.

“Hey now, I’m meant to be watching these kids train, don’t come over and distract me,” the Hermes cabin counselor warned, though he didn’t move his eyes away from you. He simply couldn’t.

Everything about you served as a distraction to him. From the soft smirk gracing your lips to the innocent tilting of your head. Every little detail about you was captivating and was equally capable of drawing his attention away from wherever it was meant to be. 

In fact, his attention issue around you was getting rather shameless because his friends have begun picking up on it and started teasing him for it. Personally, Luke doesn’t think it was his fault. His eyes just happen to draw to you in every room like second nature, while his mind short-circuited every time you were near. 

Maybe, and just maybe being rational and able to function properly has stopped being his forte…at least whenever you were around.

Your eyes moved to the group of kids that were only going to be at camp for the summer. From the looks of it, Luke has just assigned them to practice sword fighting in pairs. You then glanced back at your best friend, discreetly drinking in the sight of him. 

No doubt he did his fair share of demonstration before letting these kids go off on their own, because right now, his face was slightly flushed, veins evident on his forearm while the familiar orange shirt clung onto his body with glistening sweat.

You shook away the non-platonic thoughts and teased him, “Oh, come on, you wouldn’t pass up on talking to me. You adore me too much.” 

Damn right, he does. Luke could feel his cheeks heat up again.

“Fine. What are you here for, firecracker?”

“I got another gift,” you informed, presenting the bracelet in your hand. 

For the past month, you have been receiving small letters and gifts. This time it was a handmade bracelet with beads of your favorite colors, as well as charms that represented some of your hobbies and favorite things. It was clear that your anonymous admirer had put a lot of thought into such a small item. However, as always, there were no identities attached to it, leaving you clueless about the person behind these gestures.

Luke took your hand in his, eying the accessory that perfectly fitted your wrist. He started toying with the beads around your wrist that were shining in your favorite color.

The boy’s gaze flicked from the object to you, catching your soft and warm look. Gods, if you kept looking at him like that, he might just actually stop thinking logically. He could practically feel a confession lingering behind his lips, threatening to spew the second his ropes of restraint died.

“Anyway, I came here with an idea,” you broke the silence. “What if I try to find out who this person is? I mean, some of these gifts are quite specific. They seem to know my favorite color, flowers, and things I like. Surely, it wouldn’t be that hard to narrow it down and figure it out?”

Something shifted in your best friend’s behavior and you could feel it. There was a slight flustering look on Luke’s face as he avoided eye contact with you. It was rather strange to see the Hermes cabin counselor so fidgety. Luke has always been confident and composed, and you’d often be the one to humble down his playful cocky remarks. Half-way through looking at his behavior, you began speaking:

“You…”

Luke could feel the blood draining from his face at your facial expression, his face paling despite how flushed he was seconds ago from demonstrating sword fighting. The boy tried to regain his composure, though his attempt at seeming nonchalant failed as you touched his arm. Did you—

“You can be my inside man, talk to these guys to see if they’d slip up or something like that.” 

“I don’t think that’s a very good idea,” Luke hastily replied, clearing his throat.

“Oh, I’m sorry. Did that come across as a suggestion? I hate to break it to you but being best friends means you sorta have to participate in my schemes,” your lips curled as Luke grunted at your words. 

“Yeah, but—”

“Luke, please…it’ll be fun,” he almost scoffed at your words and unconvincing argument. Clearly, the two of you had different definitions of fun. Just as he opened his mouth to reject your idea again, his eyes caught yours. You were looking at him in such an eager and heart-warming gaze that it made him forget what he was intending to say.

Ah, there was no denying anymore. Being rational and able to function properly has truly stopped being his forte.

“Fine,” Luke uttered, the word pricking his tongue as regret started kicking in as he accepted being your accomplice. This decision could only come back to bite him in the ass. He watched as you quickly celebrated his lack of restraint.

“Ah, you gave in quite quickly,” you jabbed.

“Shut up.”

Oh, you were going to be the death of him.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Two days have passed since you got Luke to agree to help you find your secret admirer. Though, the boy must say, the last forty eight hours have been slightly comedic for him, watching you trying to track down your secret admirer…

While the real sender of those gifts was right beside you, nodding along to your every word. 

Luke’s mind trailed to the origin of this “secret admirer” idea. He started it as a way to abate the urge of straight-up blurting out how love-struck he was with his own best friend, while also testing out the waters before finally confessing his feelings for you. 

Though it was slightly amusing how the idea led him to where he was right at that moment. The Hermes cabin counselor zoned out as he pretended to speak to another boy you thought was behind those sweet gifts and letters. 

Luke used to have those feelings under rein, but self-repression only caused it to grow exponentially. Initially, the Hermes cabin counselor dismissed those beyond friendly thoughts, thinking they would eventually fizzle away. However, against his predictions, this fondness towards you became a sort of companion to him for three long years. 

Not only that, years of excessively burying these feelings six feet underground also came back to bite him in the ass because instead of having his feelings under control, they now have the upper hand. 

Sometimes he felt like a puppet, while his feelings plucked the strings. His facial expressions were forever cursed to be sculpted in raw yearning whenever around you, having no choice over how he reacts to everything related to you.

But it didn’t matter, because he was going to finally confess soon.

Luke almost burst out laughing at the way you were standing in anticipation, waiting for his intel on the most recent candidate. It was entertaining, to say the least, pretending to engage in investigative conversation before heading back to you, shaking his head in feigned disappointment. 

However, it didn’t take long before the Hermes cabin counselor started feeling sour.

Just as he made it back to your side, he watched as you started talking again, already discussing the next guy you thought might have done these things that Luke himself came up with. He eyed your in sync footsteps with a heavy heart. Despite the matching movement, he somehow still felt eternally behind. Luke was so close, yet so far away, and never quite able to grasp onto your ever moving attention. 

Did you not consider him as an option at all? Did you truly not see him as anything other than a good friend? It started stinging him knowing you were considering all these other guys as potential candidates — the faces that now haunt him in his sleep, poisoning his mind with an acidic jealousy that was eating away his common senses and fueling immoral thoughts. 

Soon enough, that same jealousy seared his mind with this overwhelming self-doubt. Luke’s foot started feeling cold at the thought of confessing. Gods, he never thought the same security behind anonymity would now make him feel desperate to be seen by you. 

“Maybe I should give up,” you concluded, mindlessly staring ahead. Your attention elsewhere gave Clarisse and Chris an opportunity to send each other knowing looks. The two have been watching you run around in circles on a goose hunt, not knowing to look right behind at the sulking figure that was trailing after you. 

Your distracted state also meant you didn’t notice the moping human situated beside you. However, hearing your declaration of ending your chase, Luke saw a window of opportunity. Maybe now was finally the time to be truthful. After all, if he doesn’t tell you, then how will you know and see him? Luke’s momentary motivation carried him through waves of dejection.

“Y/N, I need to tell you something,” Luke blurted out without much more thought or preparation, and his tone made you fully turn to him. Just as words finally formed and the boy opened his mouth to tell you—

“Hey Y/N, can I talk to you privately?” Somebody interrupted. Your eyes didn’t leave Luke immediately, but when you saw your best friend’s momentum had faltered, you turned to the stranger. It was another Hermes boy, somebody who you’ve seen around. You politely agreed and left with him. 

“So, I heard you’ve been looking for the person who’s been giving you anonymous gifts. And well, it’s your lucky day, 'cause…” the boy stared you up and down while you subconsciously took a small step back when he leaned forward. “...I’ve decided to come forward and reveal myself.”

“Okay…well, prove it” you squinted. Though your skepticism didn’t make the Hermes boy in front of you falter. Clearly, he expected this.

“The first thing you were given was a note, and…the two most recent gifts were a cassette tape and a bracelet — which was made from beads of your favorite color and charms like…” you zoned out as the boy started listing out some of your favorite activities that were indeed the charms on your bracelet. You fiddled with the bracelet that you had purposefully hidden out of his view right behind your back.

There was a pinch in your heart that signaled the last bit of hope dying. 

Oh…so Luke really wasn’t your secret admirer.

You internally scoffed at yourself. You should have known right after he said yes to helping you out with finding your secret admirer — which was originally an idea used as bait to determine if Luke was the sender or not, because if it was really him then he wouldn’t have agreed to help you out with this. However, not only did your best friend agree without much convincing from you, but he had seemed so nonchalant and unaffected as you named all these boys you wanted him to talk to. 

Perhaps this secret admirer thing was something good. Somebody has shown interest and their actions have been nothing but sweet. Those letters contained words that were eternally bound to your memories, even altering the way you view yourself for the better. Maybe you could get to know this person and move on from hopelessly crushing on your best friend.  

Halfway through, you realize you were so engulfed in your thoughts that you have zoned out to half of the things the Hermes boy was saying, and merely caught onto the last bit of his speech:

“...thinking maybe we could go on a date and get to know each other more tonight?”

Your stomach churned again, yet you nodded your head.

Move on. Move on. Move on. Move on. 

Your friends gave you questioning looks when you got back to where they were, clearly curious about what you were pulled away for.

“So…that was my secret admirer, and I’m going on a date with him tonight,” you hoped you sounded more enthusiastic than you were feeling. You tried convincing yourself at least it was good knowing definitely how your best friend actually felt about you. Quickly sitting down, you kept your eyes on Clarisse, knowing if you even looked over at Luke, he’d be able to tell straight away that something was wrong.

Your lack of focus also meant you didn’t think much of the quiet murmur from your best friend: “Sorry, I just remember I need to do something.”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

You looked at yourself in the mirror one last time. It was now the afternoon and you just finished getting ready for your date. As you were leaving, you spotted a note at the foot of your cabin. Seeing your name written on the paper, you picked it up while eying it peculiarly.

“You could be the one that I love, 

I could be the one that you dream of,

Message in a bottle is all I can do, 

Standing here hoping it gets to you.”

Your gut feeling stirred, hitting you with waves of higher certainty over suspicions you have previously had and denied.

Those lyrics were directly associated with a memory from summer two years ago. 

Luke and you were sitting by the campfire when he asked what your favorite song was. You told him the name and mentioned you hadn’t listened to it in a while because using technology devices with signals were dangerous for Demigods. The conversation slipped your mind but clearly loitered in your best friend’s mind, because two months later while on your way back to camp from your quest together, he gifted you a tape player along with a cassette of said song along with others that you liked.

You blinked away the image of you leaning on Luke’s shoulder while the two of you listened to the song together on the train back to camp.

You re-read the note again while shaking your head. Perhaps it was a coincidence. Perhaps, that Hermes boy knew the song and it was also one of his favorites. Perhaps—

Your hand started trembling around the paper. Your eyes landed on one small detail in the note: a particular handwriting choice. The rest of it matched with previous notes, but there was one singular scribbling feature you’ve never seen used before. 

Everything came crashing down and your internal eternal cycle of excuses and denial shattered.

You ran. It didn’t matter that it was raining and your attire was getting soaked. It didn’t matter at all because you were frustrated and confused. In other instances, you would have been elated at the possibility of mutual affection, but in that moment, exasperation blinded you from sensibility. 

If what you have concluded was true, then why on Earth would he allow you to go on a date with a person who stole credit for things they didn’t do? This whole time, he made you feel like a fool — for waiting that long and having hope after all that time; for asking the person you were looking for to hunt them down with you; for sulking despite having what you thought was a good opportunity to come along; for borderline going on a date with an imposter; and for not seeing it all along that it was him. 

“It’s you, isn’t it?” you called out.

Despite the rain, you could see your best friend’s figure stiffened before turning around to face you. The boy stood with his hands behind his back, not yet daring to look at you. 

“The “th”. You connected the cross in the ‘t’ directly to the ‘h’,” you presented the note in your hand, pointing specifically at the slip up that Luke had made in the latest note, not caring of the raindrops that were hitting the paper. “It’s how I write it, and you started writing it the same way a year after we got to know each other because you liked the way it looked,” you pressed further.

The expression on Luke’s face painted your theory into the truth of the situation. You felt your hand slightly shaking at the revelation.

“Why? You left anonymous gifts and notes and watched me put on this hunt — which by the way, was for you. And didn’t even say anything when a guy lied and said he was my secret admirer? Is this one big cruel prank?”

“No—”

“Oh! Well then, surely at one point in this whole thing, you felt like you should just tell me?” 

“I was going to.”

“Then where were you when I was just about to head out with that fraud? Maybe if you really liked me and really cared for me, like all those damn notes say, you would have fought for m—”

“I did,” Luke finally raised his voice, his face briefly hardened in an attempt to convey his desperation. His chest heaved, and the way it did almost made you think the anger radiating off every inch of his skin right then was directed towards you. But it wasn’t, and he knew you knew. 

“I confronted him right after he claimed that he was the one who gave you all those things.” 

Invisible ivies rooted your foot to the ground. You gulped, trying to digest the information you were given. However, it finally sunk in when Luke’s hands appeared from behind his back. It was then that you could see the bandage wrapped around his knuckles. Your breath hiccuped in both flattery and worry at the implication of what he had done. The darkness behind those deep hazel-brown orbs reflected a certain side of your best friend that you hadn’t seen before. Although, part of you felt like you wouldn’t mind it.

It made Luke’s blood boil knowing what he dedicated to you from the bottom of his heart was spoiled by ill intentions. Luke should have known better than to carelessly write all the letters and craft those gifts right on his bunk bed, rather than discreetly. 

Once again, the Hermes cabin counselor was pulled back to memories from an hour ago. The way the other boy shot remarks at Luke’s lack of precautions, boasting his wrong-doings like someone incapable of having a guilty conscience. Luke's jaw tightened as the image of the sly smirk on the other Hermes boy's face flashed in his mind, but a wave of satisfaction ran through him as he recalled how quickly that smirk was wiped away by his own fist.

They might be brothers by a fraction, but blood or not, that boy was dead to Luke the second he tried tricking you.

“And no, I wouldn’t have let you go out with a fraudster. Never,” Luke’s eyes softened. “And in case it’s not implied enough: I like you…a lot. I was going to confess but then this guy came along lying,” Luke could feel that tremor returning once more to his fist. He hated that something he built, from scratch, on the foundation of sincerity was momentarily tainted by the hands of a spineless liar. Not only that, he hated witnessing somebody so dear to him getting deceived in such a tasteless manner.

“I also…didn’t want to get hurt. It was starting to seem like you would ever consider me as more than just a friend with the way you were listing out all these other guys. So for a bit there I was considering just keeping quiet…forever” he confessed, eyes now straying away from you and down to his shoes.

You observed your best friend through a new perspective. So your initial suspicions were true. You had thought it was him because all the things you have received hinted to somebody who knew you so well, and who else at camp but Luke knew this many things about you. But ultimately, another part of you — the proclaimed “logical” side — has hyper-analyzed every split second you two have shared and deemed that Luke has not given any true signs of interest in you beyond as a friend. Thus, you dismissed the thought of Luke being your secret admirer.

You know now to trust your gut feelings more.

“Oh, Luke Castellan, you dumb ass…” you spoke softly underneath your breath, but you knew he heard you perfectly clearly from the way he slightly peered up. Your heart almost shattered at the dejected look on your best friend’s face and the thought of him burying his feelings eternally. You sure as hell would not allow that to be this timeline.

“I’ve liked you ever since the day you went out of your way and gave me that first cassette tape,” the marveled look on Luke’s face over your confession made you continue, “I guess I should have known it was you…cause gift giving has always been your love language.” It seemed like the boy was too stunned and struck frozen. However, his shell-shock state didn’t last long, because soon, your best friend’s gaze reverted back to the way he has always looked at you, only slightly more intense.

Your eyes fluttered at the sight of Luke Castellan in front of you at that moment. You were finally able to see the effect you’ve always had on him. The way his lips hung slightly agape, eyes dilated in such a way you were no longer able to see their usual color anymore, chest slightly heaving despite lack of physical reasons for such a reaction. You almost wanted to hit yourself for being such a fool and not spotting these details sooner. 

“Now, Castellan…you have two options,” you stepped closer to him, leaving an appropriate amount of personal space in between. “You either kiss me or—”

Luke grabbed your wrist with his uninjured hand and pulled you in. The same hand-guided your arms around his neck while also effectively eliminating the remaining distance between you two. 

Without hesitation, he kissed you.

Likewise, you returned the action without a second thought. You frankly didn’t care about the rain that was soaking the both of you. Kissing Luke felt like such a natural act that it felt simply like diving home. The way he held you made you feel like you were a national treasure he was so afraid of losing. Gods, you don’t think you mind doing this ever so often.

Though, there was a certain urgency in the way Luke kissed you, as if afraid you’d either vanish or you’d change your mind. You pressed your lips harder against his, hoping he’d understand you didn’t intend on leaving or having a change of heart.

A grunt escaped his throat as you kissed him harder. Oh, Luke Castellan already knew he was in immense trouble. He knew almost immediately that the concerning number of thoughts he had about you each day would only increase tenfold from this day on. He wondered if you could taste all of his unspoken words. If kissing you felt like this, he might as well sign away his heart, body, and mind to you. In fact, he’d sign anything you put in front of him without even considering the fine prints. 

Luke slowly backed you against a tree, giving you a bit of support to lean against whilst shielding the both of you from the heavy rain. He smiled into the kiss as you hummed at his action, feeling it echo against his lips. His heart tugged, almost leaping out of his chest when your hands made their way to both sides of his face, cupping it intently like holding something yours. Yours. Fuck, he loved the sound of that. 

You were the first to break the kiss. The both of you gasped for air while maintaining eye contact. The close-up view of his intense gaze drove your cheeks rosy. You could not help but admire the way his locks of wet curly hair clung onto his forehead, while raindrops fell from his face, some following the length of his eyelashes before falling — Oh, the way he glanced down at your lips at that second made you feel almost like you had the power to convince him into anything at the moment. 

“You’re my best friend…” he broke the silence.

“Mhm.”

“...but what if I want you to be more than that?”

“I can be both,” Luke’s lips broke out into a smile, and you mirrored his facial expression. He leaned his forehead against yours whilst softly rubbing his thumb soothingly against your waist.

“I’m not against that.” 

As a larger grin broke out on your lips, Luke’s eyes further softened. He realized right there and then that anything you wanted, he would not be against it. A breath of relief quietly escaped beneath Luke’s breath. He could not wait for whatever was in store for the both of you in the future.

Good thing his messages in a bottle did get to you.

-------------------------

masterlist

join my Luke Castellan taglist (or to remove yourself from)

[shiro-00s]

heaven on earth

10. unfamiliar warmth .. ✮

[ genshin impact smau / idol!xiao x fem!reader ]

The time on your phone screen changed from 4:19 to 4:20. The sun wasn't shining as brightly anymore from the clouds covering it but sunlight still peeked through some gaps. Your long-awaited meeting with the dark-haired male was finally about to begin.

Your walk to the pavilion was accompanied by the chilling wind and the sound of people passing by as they chattered on with their own little worlds. Arriving 10 minutes early wasn't exactly your plan but it wouldn't cause any harm to be early for once. Plus, you were grateful for the opportunity to be able to arrive earlier than the man to give off a good impression.

Or that was your initial plan until you saw a glimpse of someone with teal undertones and golden eyes from the windows of the pavilion.

Well, at least someone didn't ditch.

Upon walking inside, the woman at the reception welcomed you, asking for any reservations or if you didn't make one.

As you told the woman your name, you were led to the table where you were met with the sight of a menu covering a familiar face.

Your lips curled into a smile at the sight. He seemed to be too invested in the menu, not aware of your figure standing near the table. Taking this as a chance to surprise him, you walked up to the chair on the opposite side of Xiao.

From under the table, you softly kicked his shin. You tried to suppress a laugh when his reflexes kicked in and he moved away from the table. The chair made a screeching noise from the contact it made against the floor. Xiao was clutching onto the menu, his knuckles shifting from pink to white.

Sitting back against the chair in a relaxed form, you questioned the panicked man, "You alright there?" His panic seemed todie down as he took in the sight of you. With a huff, he snapped back "Are you trying to end me with a heart attack?"

You giggled at his words as he took his seat back and was looking around for anyone who might have seen his actions that happened previously. Relaxing your elbows on the table, you took his lack of attention on you to check him out.

Xiao wore a black puffer jacket and a sweatshirt underneath. You were confused why he was wearing a mask, though. Well, it looked nice on him and it complimented the outfit well so it didn't really matter.

When his attention returned to you, you met his eyes but he looked away as soon as the interaction happened. Chuckling softly to yourself, you gestured for a waiter to come and take your orders. You were grateful you did research on the pavilion beforehand to know what food you should give a try. After conversing with the waiter about your orders, you watched in silence as Xiao took off his jacket and hung it on the chair.

You ignored the glances he kept throwing at you, just because you wanted to see how long it'd take for him to start a conversation. With a silent sigh, you took it upon yourself to be the one to start it because you felt responsible for it. "Sorry for the timing, by the way, it's too late for lunch and too early for dinner."

His eyebrows rose at your apology, clearly not expecting it. Then he shook his head and you could hear him mutter an "I don't mind." even with the low volume.

It was almost funny how every time it'd end up in the same way - you start a conversation and him replying. As laughable as it was, it would end up being awkward one way or another. So the only solution in this situation: ask him a question about himself.

"Hey, y'know.. the apartment we live in is pretty expensive no? Was wondering what job you got to pay for it." A great question, but not for him. Xiao had found himself in a tight situation, he didn't really want to tell you his profession. Why would he?

You were probably one of the only people who had friended him without the knowledge of his role as an idol. Sweat dripped from both of your faces, one for the confusion of the long silence and the other for not knowing how to answer your question.

"My friend (really struggled to say that) bought it for me because it was near his place." It was an excellent lie, and it wasn't a full lie either, right? Childe bought the apartment for him because it wasn't far from the studio and was a really good deal - at least that's what he heard. However, Xiao didn't have much to worry about because you seem to have bought his lie. The only thing that you were wary about was the fact he actually had friends. Think he'd be mad if I said that out loud tho.

Still, waiting for what you'll have to say about his fake situation was nerve-wracking. "Woah, your friend gotta be.. in love with you or something for that. Either that or he's made out of money." When the words reached his ear, he'd like to think you're one of a kind to reply with something like that.

"Not really, 'think he got someone honestly, with his behavior these days."

"No way, what kind of behavior?"

"Asked me to buy something for someone else, he never does that."

Xiao surprised himself when he talked to you without difficulty and was a little proud of washis improving social skills.

And so, the conversation never ends.

It was getting late, the clock was ticking but you and Xiao were in your own little worlds. Unaware about the darkness consuming the sky slowly until one of you had glanced at the clock on one of the walls of the pavilion. Oh. It was half past 6, and the sun had already set long ago.

Xiao seemed to have taken note of the time, too. As much as you'd love to stay with Xiao, your mind was starting to play games with you.

Did I leave enough food for Rain?

Hope I won't return to the apartment being torn apart by her.

Though, you didn't have much time to ponder on further as your thoughts were stopped by Xiao's words, "Wanna walk home with me? We're headed the same way." Well.. our places are literally face-to-face so, why not?

The both of you quickly wrapped up your things, fought over the bills (you paid) and walked out the pavilion to go on the peaceful walk with Xiao. It would've been a perfect night. It would've. Except the freezing cold air brushing against all parts of your exposed skin. It took a lot in you to suppress the shivering.

Neither of you really spoke as to not disturb the tranquil air surrounding the two of you. That didn't really last long considering the sneeze that came out of you even with your attempt to muffle it with your forearm. The words that came out of Xiao's mouth had made you warm though. In a different way.

"Are you cold?"

Trying to dismiss his concern, you waved your hand slightly as a gesture to non-verbally say "don't worry". Xiao made it obvious he couldn't just accept a very obvious lie when he thought of a quick solution.

And you realized what his quick solution was when you felt a weight on your shoulders. His jacket. On your shoulders.

Xiao gave you his jacket.

You can't tell if the warmth you suddenly feel is from the jacket or your emotions. Your heart skipped a beat. The action the male had done had left you speechless. How could he do something so casually? But you kept your composure, you refused to show any signs of flustering at his actions.

Your eyes scanned Xiao, trying to pry and figure out what he's thinking. When you're unable to do so, you sigh softly. He was Xiao after all, it wouldn't surprise you if he wasn't aware that this type of activity was something usually done in kdramas, where the male lead makes a move on the main character to create a romantic scene. It was a move used by teenagers to express affection for their loved ones, a cliche plot that was written in books to make more progress on the lovers' relationship, a gesture that was meant to mean more.

You smile, "Thanks Xiao, really saving my life out here." Again, Xiao being Xiao, he simply nodded at your words with a poker face. The walk home consisted of small talks here and there, until you finally reached your apartments.

You ignore the tiny ache in your heart when you had to hand over the jacket back, you reason that it was just that comfortable. You're ripped out of your thoughts once again when your hand brushes against his. It felt like a shock. The hair on your neck stands, the beating of your heart can be heard, you gulp.

You shove your hand back to your side, then turn to your apartment, you leave a 'cya later' in the air for him to hear as you stroll into your own residence.

And Xiao was left with the jacket you wore on his hand and the emptiness of your presence.

You don't realize how Xiao thinks you look better in the jacket than he does.

heaven on earth - 10. unfamiliar warmth

previous | masterlist | next

synopsis ; 🗝️ — in which you befriend your next door neighbour who, unbeknownst to you, was apart of a soon-to-be one of the most popular bands throughout liyue. you're unable to tell if cupid was helping you or not when things with xiao keept going up and down. will he continue to keep his secret from yours truly?

NOTES — rain is the cat's name btww im really spoiling yall with the hardwork i put into this chapter fr feeding u guys

TAGLIST [OPEN] — @mikctp @ghostlysyntaxed @kazemiya @nnasv @gojoandelsalovechilde @candy-purple-cyanide @kissingkzuha @zyilas @lunaavity @luminescent-light @mave-in @rizakari @riikyu @kokoscutie @starsxnight @sketcheeee @softlie @izakyun @xiaxilia @the-sweet-madame

(ask to be added or removed)

[jessefandomunited]

Alone for Christmas

It's Christmas Eve and you realize that there is no way you'll be able to see your parents this year on such short notice. Luckily it seems like someone else dosent have plans either and it may just be someone you've had a crush on for a while.

Spencer x GN reader - no smut just probably some snuggles and kisses

Christmas had come too quickly this year, and while working at the BAU was rewarding it was ridiculously hard , especially during this time of year. I called my parents a few times and told them that unfortunately the case we were on was running long and I couldn't get a flight out in time. They told me that we would just have to have Christmas whenever I could make it over, which made me smile.

" hey did you hear ," Penelope asked as I slowly came back to reality. " Hu...oh uh no sorry I was spaced out," I said nervously. "Well they got him! They'll be home by Christmas Eve," she cheered . I smiled ," that's great but I literally have nothing to do now," I sighed leaning back in my chair. She thought a moment," well... I mean... Spencer is probably free." I could feel heat creeping up my neck, " so." She rolled her eyes," SOOOOO ask him out come on you have movie nights all the time what's so different about this?" " it's CHRISTMAS EVE that's the difference, I maybe will ask him to hang out but the last thing I want is for this to be a day where I lost my best friend due to a little crush," I insisted. She nodded," okay fiiine, me and my guy can drop by and give you some of the dinner I cooked , I always make too much anyway." I smiled," sure that would be great."

Everyone was back and I was drumming nervously on the strap of my back pack. I didn't think he would say no but my mind always jumped to the worst case scenario. " welcome back guys," Garcia greeted causing me to almost jump out of my skin. I looked up and locked eyes with Spencer. I forced a smile and waved. " relax," I heard Garcia whispering as she gently nudged me towards him. I walked over and said ," hey, how was the trip." " it was great we made better time than most trips, I thought we would be snowed in. You know the clouds are the best indicator a storm is coming" I was once again in the Spencer trance. While most people told him to hurry up or get to the point I was stuck enraptured by his words. His voice his passion everything, he was wonderful. " so do you have plans for Christmas," he asked. The question threw me off and I almost didn't answer, I didn't expect that he would bring it up. " oh.. no I wasn't able to get tickets in time," I said beginning to massage my hands to ease my anxiety. He looked a little surprised," oh... well you know I don't have any plans either so we could have a Christmas movie night, I still havnt given you your Christmas present so it'll be perfect." My head was swirling and I felt like I ascended to cloud nine," yes , yeah that would be fun, you know Garcia said she would bring over some food too." " great it's settled I'll go home and grab some clothes and I'll meet you at your place in an hour 35 most likely ," he said scooping up his satchel," see you then" I waved then slumped into an unattended chair, he actually said yes.

I got home and decided to quickly make some of the tub chocolate chip cookies I have in my fridge as something to snack on while we watched a Christmas movie or two. I also stressed out way more than I should have deciding what pair of pjs to wear. I had a limited option but what combo of old shirt and pj pant truly said I'm secretly in love with you. After that I brought out a blanket for the couch and started to heat up milk on the stove to make hot chocolate. Even if there was no dramatic confession I was excited to spend time with him.

Almost exactly as he predicted I hear a light knock at the door one hour and 35 minutes after we had left the BAU. He had an overnight bag and a huge grocery bag as well. " wow what's all this I said helping him with his things. " well I thought we could decorate gingerbread house while we were watching Christmas movies ," he said beaming. My heart almost melted , he brought a secondary activity. " oooOo cookies and hot chocolate," he said excitedly, " perfect! Have you decided which movie we're watching first?" I nodded," it's kind of embarrassing but I havnt watched white Christmas yet and I really love it." He nodded," that's a great choice I love those old musicals. If you want to start it up I'll get the gingerbread houses sorted." I agreed and put on the movie.

Soon enough we were annoyingly singing the songs while we made our houses and drank our filll of hot coco. I tried my best to make the house as good as possible but it still ended up pretty sloppy. After we migrated over to the couch and settled in. We watched the muppet la Christmas carol which Spencer insisted was a must , then home alone, and then we were both fast asleep.

I woke up to the smell of bacon wafting through the air and Christmas music was playing on the radio. I smiled and checked my phone before fully waking up. Garcia sent a text that said " merry Christmas I'll be over at about 11 TELL HIM" I said merry Christmas to her and maybe. As I sat up I noticed there was a plate of half eaten cookies by the small tree I had that now had two presents beneath it. I chuckled, " looks like Santa came aye?" He glanced over ," would you look at that he did!" " thanks for making breakfast," I said stretching. " no problem at all, Thankyou for offering your home to me," he said smiling . I took a cup and poured some coffee in before sitting at the table and gazing outside at the sparkling snow covering the roads, everything seemed so still. And I felt like I did need to tell Spencer, today, now. " hey uh Spence," I asked looking over . He had two plates that he picked up and plopped in front of each of us, " yes?" I poked at my eggs and took a deep breath before saying, " if I say this can you promise our friendship we will be there." He got a worried look on his face as he said , " it depends but I believe so." I swallowed, " ever since i met you I think .... I liked you, like .. maybe even loved. I've had some issues in the past so I didn't think you would like me back. So I hid it. But it's eating me up inside and I'm fine if you don't like me back we can still be friends but I had to tell you." He didn't answer and I risked a glance up at him. He was shocked and his face was beat red, " really?" I nodded anticipating a smooth rejection. " I thought ... you only liked me as a friend too, I ... feel the same way," he stumbled over his words but it seemed to be from excitement. My eyes widened," is .. is that a yes... are we like together?" He laughed, " yes please." We both got up and embraced eachother, I felt tears come out as we stayed there. We both pulled back a bit and kissed. It was better than I thought it would be. He was more forceful than I expected his hands pulling me closer to him, we probably would have stayed like that longer if it wasn't for a kick at the door. It was 11, garcia had impeccable timing. I walked over and opened the door to an overjoyed Garcia who hugged me immediately," did you do it." I nodded and her eyes lit up she looked from me to Spencer , " are you guys?" Spencer tried to hide a smile but also just sheepishly nodded. She squealed in delight and ran over to hug him to, her boyfriend trailing behind her with food and gifts.

The rest of the day was wonderfully lazy. We ate with Garcia and her boyfriend who left quickly after to see his parents. Then we made out a bit more before remembering our presents. We sat underneath the tree and exchanged our presents. I had clumsily attempted to make him some crocheted socks (mismatched of course) but I also got him a first addition copy of " the blind banker" which he was ecstatic about. For me he had remembered how much I loved his 4th doctor scarf and made me one too. I was over the moon and gave him the tightest hug I could.

The rest of the evening we put on various Christmas movies and cuddled and talked. It was wonderful. I was overjoyed at how well this turned out. I honestly could not have been happier than I was now



[rowiewritesstuff]

Hello again! Second request, I do hope I am not bothering you! I was wondering about a Bayverse A.U. where original events do occur but all is better and no one dies- (Maybe with extra characters like the twins and others) I was suggesting perhaps the reader (maybe female preferably), an agent if you will, is shy in a way, but is very sweet and charming to those around them. Maybe if O.P. is quite interested in how the reader makes him feel happy and do you know the song "Cloud 9" by Beach Bunny?- "But when she loves me, I feel like I'm floating When she calls me pretty, I feel like somebody"

What if the reader calls him that and speaks to him in a gentle way when they first meet and everyone else on the team is shocked with the way they became friends and how they treat one another. Bonus with their reactions and Ratchet being too old for this shit!

Bayverse Optimus Prime Fluff X Shy! Sweet! F! Reader

Hope this is okay! If either story wasn't what you wanted let me know and I can rewrite them! <3

While you wanted to be in the military to help others, you were never too good at the physical aspect. However the military did see your high test scores and strategic intelligence, so they still brought you in. Eventually, after a few years of hard work, you were assigned to work with the Autobots.

When you were first introduced to them, you were a little shy but smiled up at them and introduced yourself. When Optimus greeted you, you couldn’t help but say “Nice to meet you beach bunny!” 

Your face lit a bright red as you realized what you said. The room got really quiet as everyone stared at you- which only made your embarrassment worse. You wished you could implode on yourself, before Jazz slapped the Prime on the back harshly. “ Nice, beach bunny! You’ve gone and embarrassed the poor girl.” He leaned down to you and held a digit out for you to shake. “Hey lil’ lady, I'm Jazz” 

You took his digit and smiled. “Hi, it’s really nice to meet you!” 

Optimus took a que from Jazz and also held his digit out. “I am Optimus Prime, leader of the Autobots. It is good to meet you.”

You nervously shook his digit as well. “I look forward to working with you, sir.” You did your best to maintain your composure at being able to shake this handsome mech’s hand- er, digit. 

After a few weeks past, you began to get more comfortable around everyone in the base- especially Optimus. You had just become the base’s sweetheart that everyone got along with- even Galloway.

Optimus often invited you on long drives, where you both would listen to music and talk about what had bothered you that day. 

No one really expected you to become friends so quickly with the serious Prime- especially Ratchet, Ironhide, and Jazz, his oldest friends. They were all super glad that their leader had someone that he could really open up to. He often tried to hide his darker emotions- but now he’s super open about it with you.

It was clear as day to Ratchet what was happening when the Prime came to him for advice. Optimus told him that he had feelings he couldn’t pinpoint for you. Whenever he thought of you his spark would flutter and he felt as if he were floating. He told Ratchet that whenever you complimented him for being handsome, or for his intelligence he felt like they were the only two in the world. 

Ratchet shook his head with slight amusement. “You love her. Why are all the young bots these days so ignorant to their own emotions?

The terrible twins and all of the other trouble makers of the base are super happy you’re here too- you keep the Prime calm whenever they cause trouble, like breaking something really expensive. You always scold them but it’s in a much more gentle way. Everyone’s also pretty shocked that they listen to you. They try to be on their best behavior around you so you’re not disappointed in them. 

Bumblebee wasn’t too happy about you coming around the base at first. He sees Optimus as a guardian or father figure, so he sees you similar to how humans would see a new step-mother. Eventually he couldn’t resist your gentle charm and warmed up to you. You were a shoulder to cry on for him, and someone he could go to for advice when he was too nervous to go to Optimus.

All of the femme bots would pull you away every few weeks for a ‘girls night’ where they would interrogate you about how Optimus was to date. They always wanted to know how romantic he was, or how serious in the relationship he was. Every time you’d get a look of pure adoration on your face that they couldn’t help put coo over.

When Optimus was killed by Megatron, you felt something in you die. You couldn’t believe what had happened right in front of you and Sam. You felt like you were frozen in place. 

Sam had to pull you away to the safety of Bumblebee’s cab.

You all went on a mission to save Optimus, and you were guilty of punching Simmons in rage a few times. 

The entire time Optimus was in the allspark, he was thinking about you. How happy you made him. He never thought that he would fall for anyone, let alone a human- but there he was. He wished so badly to just hold you one last time, to tell you how much he loved you. 

When he was finally revived, you ran to him. You begged him not to fight Megatron, but he just kissed your head. “I’ll be alright, my dear.” 

Between sobs you got out “You better, my beach bunny.”

While Optimus fought Megatron, you were on his mind. He knew he needed to go back to you in one piece. When he finally won the battle, he went back to you and scooped you into his hands. 

You made him promise to never scare you like that again, you couldn’t take it. 

“I promise that if I can help it, then it will never happen again.”

You smiled up gently at him, making him fall for you all over again. “You better not, or we’ll have problems, beach bunny.”

[risewriter]

ROTTMNT: Turtle Pile

A terrified cry for help reaches the three older tot brother’s ears.

"Mikey?!" They make eye contact with each other before racing to Michael's room.

Opening the door, the only thing lighting the room is a little nightlight of a unicorn. It's flickering, showing the silhouette of a little orange turtle. Shaking like a leaf, Mikey looks up.

''R-Raph?''

''Hey, bud.'' Raph replies. While he and the crew nears he adds: ''What's up?''

''The sky..'' The little box shell's head slumps onto his folded knees.

A snort Leo lets out is cut short by an elbow from both Raph and Donnie in each of the slider's hips.

''It's... doing the scary noises again.'' Mikey's eyes stray to his night light. ''Even Jorge is scared..''

''Aw, Mike. It's just a little thunder. It can't hurt ya.'' The snapping turtle sits down next to Michael.

''Yeah! You're kinda in a bunker here, bro.'' Leo plops beside the two. ''Nothin' is getting through here, right D?'' Throwing the stick to Don, which he wasn't prepared to catch, the soft shell steadies his glasses.

"O-Of course! These sewers are one of the safest areas to be at during storming weather conditions. I can guarantee that being struck by lightning is highly improbable.''

''See? Even D knows it's a pro babble!''

''Improbable.''

''Yeah? That's what I said.''

The two lock eyes, though Donnie knew from experience that this is a battle which doesn't deserve his effort.

''Although, if this was a flood, we would be in danger. We can hold our breaths for a long while, but we would have to move to a different area- Ah-''

Now noticing that his brothers were signing him to stop talking, little Mikey begins to cry.

''Shh, Mikey! There's no flood! It's ok!''

As Raphael and the others try to calm their little brother down, a light crack in the sky followed by a loud rumble trembles the floor beneath them.

''AAAH!'' Mikey screams, covering his ears with the hope the drums above the clouds would stop.

But then, without warning, Jorge's light goes out.

''J-Jorge?'' Mikey looks up to see only darkness. ''Raphie?'' With each cry, the box shell feels his anxiety grow. ''Le-Le? Dee?''

The orange turtle senses getting jostled. At first, it freaked him out even more, but then it became more and more familiar.. and warm.

''I got it.'' The soft shell calls out. Within a few seconds, the night light blinks back to life. Though, Donnie didn't just fix the light, he worked his magic to make Jorge slowly switch to each of the colours of the rainbow.

Now being able to see clearly, Mikey's eyes widen. He's now being held by his big red brother in the opening of his crossed legs.

''In case anythin' tries to hurt ya, I'll be the roof!'' Raphael brings out a toothy grin.

''Oh! Oh! I'll be like- the really, really important cool guy! I'll be so cool that I can stomp on the ground and scare that thunder away!'' Imitating a ‘woosh’ sound, Leo let himself fall on Raph's side.

''I'll make that lightning a light thing!'' He winks, causing both the turtles to giggle.

''Aaand since nobody knows how lightning works, I guess I'll be the lightning rod.'' A tad reluctant, the soft shell leans against the snapping turtle's back shell.

Raph wraps his arms around Leo and Mikey as the drowsiness takes hold. With Jorge keeping a watchful eye, the rainbow colored turtle pile dozes off.

Looks like tomorrow will be sunny.

[my-great-big-book-of-fan-fiction]

The Taming of Man: chapter Seven - Dragon Shifting!Katsuki Bakugou x F!reader

Ok, ok, I know I said I don't normally write chapters this long, But the creative juices were flowing! Don't expect this all the time though, I'm only writing so much because you're so cute. much love, hope you enjoy this chapter, it's a doozey!

Words: 3,825

This is incredibly based on the song The Willow Maid by Erutan, I highly recommend giving it a listen for the best experience.

Warnings: Cursing, reader is She/Her and will be AFAB in later chapters, Katsuki is practically naked for a sec, reader has mommy issues, Kat is trying his best

"Turn around," Katsuki ordered, his face getting redder and redder as he realized his own nakedness. If he wanted to turn into a dragon, he'd have to take off the only shred of clothing he had left, and he sure as hell wasn't doing that in front of you.

You obliged him, sighing and facing the wall. "Take this too," he huffed, not giving you a singular second before the satchel he wore hit your back. "Hey," you shouted, kneeling and doing your best not to turn around, grabbing the satchel and holding it. The strap broke when Katsuki transformed last, so you had to just keep it under your arm.

The sounds you could hear from Katsuki were unfamiliar, like popping and glimmering and something else entirely. You could feel his presence grow larger, his form expanding. You turned around at the sound of giant feet planting on the ground, and what you saw...he was majestic.

His body took all available space, each ruby colored scale no doubt the size of your face, His piercing red eyes even more capturing as he glared down at you. His wings expanded outward, above the nearby buildings, albeit short ones...if you didn't know any better, you'd say he was showing off.

You stepped closer, you hand gingerly resting on his snake-like underbelly, looking up and squinting to see. You could stand on one of his big black claws no doubt, each of his scaled legs like the base of a tree trunk, his form solid and his stance proud.

He leaned downward, causing you to take several steps to the side so you wouldn't be crushed. His massive head nearly touched the ground, and he let out a low rumbling sound. He was telling you to get on.

Slowly and with a lot of struggle, you clambered up his side, situating yourself between a couple of the giant gold spikes that ran down his spine at an angle. As he sat back up and prepared for take off, you began to realize what exactly you were doing.

You've never ridden a dragon before, what if you fell? Katsuki wouldn't let you get hurt, you were sure of it. Shaking your head and taking a deep breath, you watched as his wings began to slowly flap, his body rising with each beat. You gripped onto one of the spikes, taking deep breaths to calm yourself. Wind was being generated all around you, your hair flying as he began to go up, and up, and up, and up.

You squeezed your eyes shut, bracing yourself, but when you opened your eyes after only a few seconds, you found that you were already far above the market. Everyone looked like ants from here, ants that were slowly disappearing into the horizon as you soared forward.

You could feel the wind in your hair, your eyes forced shut from the pressure, but you also felt weightless. Your anxiety subsided, left with the awe of being so high in the air. If there were clouds, you'd certainly be above them. You've never been this high in the air before, even when riding a Pegasus, nor have you moved so fast.

You could already see the palace ahead, and when you were able to see just past the wall surrounding it, you could feel Katsuki begin to descend.

He ended up veering to the right of the palace, landing around the area you came out of.

Of course, when you got off he made you turn around, poking you gently with his tail to remind you he'd be rather naked. You yet again obliged him, Listening to the sounds of his transformation, before you were graced with the sound of his voice.

"Give me my bag, It has that cloak in it," he ordered, his voice as gruff as ever.

You aimlessly tossed it behind your shoulder after taking your dress out of it, wanting to get him back for hitting you with it earlier, although from the sounds of it he caught the thing.

After the rustling of fabric, he told you you could turn around, and once again the cloak was wrapped around his waist.

He had you go through all the motions of sneaking into the palace grounds, although of course he made you go first up the wall, given his...current predicament.

Keeping you once again in Versengen's den, he left to get clothes. You took the opportunity to change back into your green dress, although you felt weirdly self conscious changing in front of the currently sleeping dragon.

Katsuki returned after about 10 minutes, wearing clothes nearly identical to the ones he had on before, and he seemed visibly disappointed for a second after seeing you out of that red dress. "What's even the point of buying you a dress if you're not going to wear it," he grumbled, pulling you out of the barn.

"Well, If I showed up back home wearing a brand new dress I think that'd raise suspicion," you laughed, watching Katsuki scan the area out of the barn before pulling you farther along. All this sneaking around and climbing and hiding was getting pretty repetitive.

Eventually, you reached the edges of the forest once more, and Katsuki wasted no time holding you by the shoulders like a shield. He hated how stupidly easy traversing the forest was for you, after all the time he spent dodging every danger it had.

The acrimony trees pressed their roots into the ground so you could make it through with no trouble, even going as far as to whip away the little pebbles you nearly trip on.

The trees in Eisen, densely packed and thick, separated for you, bending their trunks out of the way and allowing you to step through.

The trees in Schatz dropped their leaves behind you, showering you in golden flakes as you walked.

In Leben, vines extended towards you, offering you blooming flowers.

In Nebel, the little mushrooms glowed as you walked past, almost bending towards you...

Entering the center ring you knew so well, Katsuki released you and watched as you happily walked toward the giant tree trunk, standing atop it and stretching out towards the setting sun.

"Thanks for doing this for me, I had a lot of fun," you said, smiling as you watched him from afar. He didn't get any closer than the outskirts of the ring, he had to make the walk home and he didn't want to do more than he had to.

"Yeah yeah," he scoffed loudly, waving you off as you made your way to the water so you could go home. Going your separate ways, you couldn't help but feel giddy for next time.

When you got home, Ochako was there waiting for you, ready to help you get into bed. You greeted each other, and as she silently combed through your hair, she seemed to be thinking about something.

"What's the matter," you asked nervously, worried she might be on to you.

"Nothing," she said sweetly, bringing your hair into a loose braid. "It's just..."

"What," you asked softly, turning to face her after she finished. She sighed and looked to the side, closing her eyes. "Look, I don't know what you've been doing when you go out there, but...You seem happier. So whatever it is, keep doing it."

You were surprised, eyes wide and blinking. "Oh...well, uh...thank you." You smile at her, moving to your bed to lay down. "And for the love of god, don't tell me what it is, because I already know the queen won't approve," she sighs, meriting a laugh from you.

You settled into bed, and Ochako began to leave. You stared at the ceiling, pulling the covers to your chin. Did you really seem that much happier? Did he make you more happy...?

"Uhm, Ochako," you called out, your voice cracking.

"Yeah," she responded, turning to face you.

"Have you ever...liked a person? Like, really liked them?"

"I...can't say that I have," she admitted nervously, giving you an apologetic smile. "Why? Do you like someone," she asked quickly, her mood immediately lifting.

"N-no," you shot back, sitting upright with warm cheeks. If Katsuki were here he'd call you a shitty liar.

Ururaka sighed, giggling a little as she moved to leave again. "Well...If you did...I'm sure he'd be more than happy to have you."

"T-thank you," you mumbled, your heartbeat slowing as you calmed back down.

"Don't worry about it! I mean, with your status, any duke would jump at the chance," she laughed, leaving you with that as she shut the door.

right. You were supposed to like a duke, one of the many you met with. Your eyes hit the ceiling once more, brows furrowed as you blinked back a couple tears. What was wrong with you? You never cried, and all of a sudden you're crying about nothing?

So what if you couldn't be with Katsuki? So what if you had no say in your future? Tears kept spilling down your face, rolling onto your silken pillows and staining your cheeks in the process. Why can't you be happy with what you have, you're a princess, your life was handed to you on a silver platter...

You shouldn't yearn after something you can't have...and yet...

A life outside of this, a life with him...was it worth risking it for a chance?

Katsuki didn't make it home until late, like usual, but thankfully he didn't bump into anyone while traversing the halls of his palace. He really didn't feel like talking to extras. Making it to his bedroom, he immediately collapsed onto the bed, tired from the day he's had. Unfortunately for him, Kirishima poked his head through the door, looking at him with a giddy smile.

"What," Katsuki grumbled through gritted teeth, one arm behind his head with his eyes closed.

"C'monnnn dude, tell me about her!" Kirishima walked into the room quickly, shutting the door and practically flying over to Katsuki.

"Like I said, there's nothing to tell." Katsuki opened one eye, looking up at Kirishima while he stared him down.

He finally sighed, shaking his head and pouting. "Alright, I get it..."

Finally, he was going to leave.

"You're just grumpy because you can't pull her," Kirishima sighed, turning around and walking away so Katsuki couldn't see the shit eating grin on his face.

"Wha- Who said I can't," Katsuki shouted, sitting upright and staring daggers at Kiri. That really hit a nerve, not only because of his pride, but also because he was pretty sure he actually couldn't.

"You did, with you're eyes," Kirishima announced, being completely serious, as he turned back around to face him again.

"Shut up! If I wanted her I'd have her already, I'm the damn prince of the Dragonborne," Katsuki barked, moving to sit on the edge of the bed.

"Just 'cause you're a prince doesn't mean she likes you," Kirishima responded, sitting next to Katsuki.

Now all Kat could do was stutter and stumble, unable to come up with an argument. "W- uh- you-"

Alright, now it was time to actually help him out. With a sigh, Kirishima smiled kindly at Katsuki. "Listen, dude, whoever this girl is, she's important enough to you to fight for, so I say go for it!"

Katsuki looked to the floor, his jaw clenched. "...if I hypothetically had feelings for someone, how do I know?" Katsuki knows Kiri's been in love before, or at least liked a couple girls enough to pursue them.

"well..." Kirishima paused in thought, looking to the ceiling to try and give him an answer.

"For starters, your heart feels like it's gonna explode out of your chest, but like, in a good way..."

check.

"your hands get all sweaty..."

check.

"your always feel breathless, even if you can breath just fine..."

Fucking check.

"There's some other stuff, but it all depends on the person," Kiri finished, shrugging. From the look on Katsuki's face, his words rang true to him. "I'm goin' to bed," Katsuki announced suddenly.

"What about Pajamas," Kiri asked, given the fact Katsuki never changed out of his day clothes. "What about 'em? Just get the hell outa here," Katsuki grumbled, laying in bed and angrily pulling the blankets over himself.

With a chuckle, Kirishima got up and blew out all the candles, moving to the door and leaving him be.

Katsuki stared at his ceiling, intent on figuring this out. He liked you? Did he really...? He did. Good, got that out of the way. So, now what? Was he going to court you? Was he able to...

Of course he was! He was motherfucking Katsuki Bakugou, prince of the Dragonborne! He'd court the hell out of you, He'd court you so well you'll be weak in the knees! It was decided then. You won't know what hit you.

For the past two weeks, as in to say two weeks after going out to the market, you've noticed some weird things about Katsuki. First of all, He's started wearing more intense colors...if you could say that. His clothing, originally consisting of beiges and muted reds, now contained mainly black and deep, vibrant reds, not to mention his animal tooth necklace was now accompanied by golden rings and bangles.

He's also been bringing more things for lessons, like drac coins to teach you about his currency, little glass figurines to teach you about his culture's history with glassblowing, and different bits of jewelry with different gems inlaid to teach you about the stones' meaning historically. It was all interesting, and you appreciated his consideration when teaching you, but all this stuff was getting harder to hide when you went home.

Lastly, and this might be your imagination, but you swear his arm scales are turning a deeper orange and becoming more prominent.

Eventually, you just chalked it all up to the coming spring. Some animals changed their behaviors and appearances in the spring, and maybe Dragonborne were no different.

"Hey, you listening," Katsuki asked, his tone accusatory as he nudged your side.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, sorry." You were lost in thought about it, despite the fact it really wasn't that important.

"You beg me to teach you things and don't even listen when I do," he huffed, leaning back on the stump and looking up at the pale pink sky. An orange butterfly floated right past him, catching his attention and leading his gaze to you as it landed in your hair and sat like a broach.

You didn't lean back with him, but your gaze was locked on the clouds drifting past lazily, the sounds of the babbling brook filling your ears.

All Katsuki could look at right now was you. Why wouldn't you accept his advances? He was clearly flirting with you, doing practically everything necessary to signify he wanted you as his mate. He gave you treasures, he sat as close to you as possible, he wore more eye-catching things when he went to see you. Hell, he's been doing this so long even his body started reacting.

When dragons, usually male, want to begin looking for a mate, they intensify their colors and release pheromones. Once they find the mate they want, they bring said mate treasures, spent as much time around them as possible, and dance for them. Of course, this is all for full-blooded dragons, but some things remained for Dragonborne people.

Genetically, he's still wired to change colors and release pheromones when he's entered the mating stage, and he's been doing just that. What else did you want from him?! You should be love-drunk off of his pheromones, at the bare minimum. Did he need to dance for you? It wasn't something people did anymore, the kind of thing some geezer on life support would suggest, but maybe you were old fashioned.

"What's up with you," you asked him, this time it was your turn to be annoyed.

"Do you want me to dance," Katsuki asked gruffly, looking into your eyes with complete seriousness.

"Wh- huh," you asked, a smile on your face as you processed what he could possibly mean by that. "Why," you giggled.

"Well you don't like anything else I do," He grumbled, brows furrowing. How dare you laugh, he was trying to be sincere!

"What are you talking about right now," you asked, laughing even more. You were so confused, completely lost.

He sat straight up, scowling at you. "Don't pretend like you don't know, There's no way in hell you...don't...know..." He started, yelling before tapering into mumbling.

You don't know.

How could he be so dense? You weren't a Dragonborne, you probably had some other dumb mating ritual. He should have done some research on faerie mating.

"Know what? Katsuki, Just tell me what you want to tell-"

he grabbed your face in his hands, squishing your cheeks a little as he looked deep into your eyes. He wasn't going to let you get confused, he was going to make this loud and clear.

"I. Like. You."

You froze, lashes fluttering nearly as fast as your heart. Was he serious? No way, he couldn't be...

"Like...Like-like?" You said "like" too many times. You were just so nervous.

"Well...yeah..." he mumbled, his initial confidence and bravery dwindling as he became more and more aware of how ballsy this was. He quickly released your face, turning to stare at the water as his cheeks got redder by the second.

"Just forget about it, 's not that big of a deal, so go ahead and shut up already-"

Now it was your turn to interrupt him. you brought your hand to his cheek, gently turning him to face you as you leaned in close. Without skipping a beat, you pressed your lips to his, eyes squeezed shut from how embarrassed you made yourself. The kiss was sweet and chaste, his lips warm and ever so slightly chapped as he sat there frozen in shock.

Like hell he'd let you just kiss him like that, not without fighting back.

He brought one hand to your waist, the other to the back of your neck, pulling you into him as he took a sharp breath in from his nose to calm himself. He was practically vibrating with satisfaction, with happiness that you reciprocated his feelings. He spent all that time refusing to believe that he was admiring you, wishing that he could feel you closer, wanting more than anything to experience your affection, when he could have had all of that so much sooner.

You could feel him breath out against your face, the air hot, almost like steam. Every part of you was on fire, flames fueled by the raw passion Katsuki emitted from simply being. His hands, his lips, his lashes, all of them felt on your skin and all of them making you feel weak in the knees.

Slowly and reluctantly, the two of you pulled away. Katsuki could hear your heart pounding. You could feel the heat around Katsuki. All you did was stare at each other, his eyes slightly lidded and intense in every sense of the word.

you were the first to break the silence, swallowing deeply as you said, "I-I've never done that before." He could hear how shaky your voice was, it made him proud to know he had such an effect on you.

"M-me neither." Damn it. Stupid body, giving away how you made him feel, you weren't supposed to know you effected him that much too!

"Uh...for the record, I like-like you too," you laughed, trying to play off your nerves with a joke.

Katsuki smiled, snickering. You were so cute. He was glad he could say that now, without feeling delusional. "I can't believe I spent the last two weeks trying to court you when I coulda just told you," Katsuki groaned, shaking his head at his own idiocy.

"You've been trying to court me," you asked, astonished. Katsuki burst out laughing, and after lots of begging from you and the swallowing of his pride from him, he explained it all.

"Ohhhhh...that...makes a lot of sense," you giggled, the lingering high from that kiss making you feel bold enough to rest your head on his shoulder. He allowed it, inching his hand closer to yours until your pinkies touched. You smiled to yourself, looking up at the sky as you interlaced your fingers with his. The beautiful deep orange hue, transitioning into a dark blue as nightfall was encroaching-

crap.

You pulled away from Katsuki, standing straight up and causing him to give you a confused scowl.

"I gotta go," you announced, your voice thick with apology. "I'll come back tomorrow though, promise," you supplemented quickly, brows quirked as you looked to Katsuki for acceptance to these terms.

"Fine, yeah, don't get in trouble," he grumbled, looking away from you with pink cheeks.

You grabbed your stuff, cheekily giving him one final peck on the lips before you left. "Hey, get back here," Katsuki shouted, grabbing you by the arm as he stood. He took your chin in his fingers, kissing you again. "Can't have you giving more kisses than I do," he mumbled, releasing you.

You looked up at him, surprised at first, but gave him a love-struck smile. "That's fair," you giggled, waving him a quick goodbye as you hopped into the underwater portal. He watched as you left, a stoic expression on his face, but the second you left for good he let out a breath he had no idea he was holding. "Holy shit," he mused, practically clutching his chest.

You were practically glowing as you walked home, making your way through the forest and to the palace walls. "Katsuki Bakugou, prince of the Dragonborne, my boyfriend," you muttered to yourself, smiling as you skipped along. A little bunny hopped into your path, looking up at you with round black eyes, contrasting it's pure white fur.

"I have a boyfriend," you squealed to it blithely, picking it up and spinning it around, before releasing it to continue hopping.

You greeted everyone you saw sweetly as you walked through the palace back to your room, which was a surprising large amount considering the time. 10...15...20 people you saw in total as you walked to your room? Everyone seemed so busy, you wondered what it was for.

You walked into your room, bright and happy, before you saw your Mother sitting on your bed. The queen of the Fae. Her deep blue dress made her stand out in your room, the white and pastels paling even further in her presence. "(Y/N) dear, take a seat," she urged, patting the space next to her on your bed, her voice and smile sickeningly sweet. Your stomach twisted in knots, your demeanor wilting.

"Let's have a little chat."

oooooo scary. Let me know if you liked this chapter in the comments, each one means so much to me!

Taglist: @sky-angel101 @the-galaxy-fiend @chixkadee @ssplague @sappho-the-kitten-tamer @andysdrafts @daria-rona @tanjirofan63 @aizawaslut09 @tsukiiomii @me1297

[otherone12]

We Were Meant To Be, Supposed To Be

( Avril reference lol)

Frank Iero × Reader

-> Masterlist

A/N: Hey!! I took too long to write this, because I wasn't at home, so couldn't finish it. Also, i've changed the whole plot of this fic like three times, and I still thinking that's not good as I wanted. Anyways, i hope you enjoy :D

A/N 2: You guys want a Vampire x Reader fic? And with wich member?

Summary - You and Frank dated for a while before he joined MCR, but when you two decided to go separate ways, the different worlds didn’t work well together and you broke up. Years later, your lives collide again, but this time you’re not that young anymore. (This supposed to be a DD era Frank, but if you wanted to change it, be your guest).

- Word Count: 1.530

- Warnings: none

- Ps: I'll not use y/n…

- Ps2: I'm brazilian, so english is not my first language ... sorry if i wrote something wrong.

___________________________________________

1st person POV

  I was walking down streets on my way to my work, like I do every single day. The large amount of people on the street got me a bit nervous, but I learned to pretend that they didn't exist. 

    The huge building where I work seems small when I enter through the automatic door and go to my even smaller office. I took my earphones and turned the radio on in my city’s broadcasting station. “.... and we're gonna rock this town, like we always do.” The voice that I heard sounded a bit familiar, but I couldn't tell who it was, 'cause of the noise from poor radio contact.   

    I tried harder to listen to what he’ll say, but he had already  finished the interview and the announcer said “Guys, that was Frank Iero telling us what we can expect from the My Chemical Romance concert next week. Thank you, Frank!”

    I got shocked. Why wasn't I able to recognize Frank's voice? It's been that long?

   Frank and I met at high school in our freshman year. We became best friends in about three months. Earlier than we expected, we were hanging out and holding hands. He was the best part of my highschool, probably because I was the most introverted person in the world, he is the opposite. Frank encouraged me to go to parties with him, to be less insecure, to be myself… I owe him all the chances I haven't let go since.

So, like all good things, we were over. He is a famous guitarist, touring through the whole world with his band, and I'm here. I went to college and became exactly what I wanted since I was a kid. 

    We were immature and broke up at the first trouble we had, we’ve been together for six years, and knew each other enough to know that we couldn’t handle a long distance relationship. Without any fight or discussion, we decided that was the end, and just didn’t talked anymore to not turn things harder than they almost were.

Moving on took me a few years, but no one of the people that I dated after Frank made me feel the way he did. Maybe we’re some kind of "meant to be'', and we threw our chance away, giving up that easy.

    The idea of Frank being here gave me the sensation of butterflies in my stomach, should i talk to him? No. I mean, I would like to see him, ask him if he thinks of me like I think of him. Maybe he's still trying to forget about us but incapable to do it, just like me. 

    I gave a brief look to the clock on the wall and noticed that I spent an hour just thinking of Frank, remembering our best moments. And just when I thought I reached the bottom, I felt a tear dripping down my face. 

    With my sleeve, I wiped that single tear in my cheek and keeped working. 

    The rest of the day was gray, the color of the clouds coincidently matched with my feelings. At home, I dropped myself in my bed and turned the tv on, with a desperate yearn to keep my mind out of my old memories. In a few minutes I fell asleep. 

*** time skip ***

  Next day, I decided that I would enjoy myself in some cool place. So at 9pm I put on my best clothes and went to my favorite bar. The place still the same since the last time i went there

   The low lights inside the bar almost made me stumble but I held on to the door before falling.

Like always, the place was crowded and the mix of people talking and the small band who were playing reminded me why I definitely prefer to stay at home instead of going out. Don’t get me wrong, the band was good, I only hate this amount of noise. 

    I took a seat by the side of a group of four men, but it was too dark to see their faces. I avoided looking at any of them for a long time, so it wouldn't look like I was flirting or something.

    - Hey! It's been a long time since the last time you’ve been here. - I used to come here so often that I became friends with the bartender - How’s it going?

   - Great i think, just a bit down this week. - I tell him, with a heavy sight - But I'm here to relax, so, gimme the same as always.

   - Right away, dear! 

   The bartender called my name after some minutes to give me my drink, and I felt the back of my neck burn, like I was being watched. Slowly, I turned around and the four guys were looking at me. My eyes, now accustomed with the dim place, could recognize their faces. I forgot how to breathe when I realized who they were.  

  - Holy shit! I thought I heard your voice, but then I thought that I was getting insane - The man closer to me said, and a silly smile appeared on my face. - You remember me, right, darling?

    - How could I forget you, Frank? - I took a sip of my drink, still smiling. - And, believe me, I tried so fucking hard to.

    - So do I… 

    He took a deep breath and his gaze showed that he missed me as much as I missed him. 

    - When he knew that we’ll be doing some concerts here, he started to talk about you and didn’t stop - Ray said, giggling, while Frank gave him a deathly look. - Well, good to see you again, by the way!

    - Same, guys! - I looked at all of them and nodded, drinking again. - Eight years is too long, but at the same time it seems like it was just a week ago. 

    - Ain’t that the truth? Damn! - Frank didn’t stop to look at me as of the beginning of the conversation. If he keeps doing this, I'll end up kissing him. - You’re pretty as always. ya know?

    My world just tumbled down with his sentence. He used to say this daily to me, in the same way. I gasped and, just like a movie, I saw him, a sixteen boy sitting by my side at the school’s refectory saying this to me for the first time. 

    Ray, Gerard and Mikey walked away to the other side of the bar and Frank stood up when I didn’t respond. Unable to say anything, I just looked at his hazel eyes and felt him getting closer. The feeling of panic washed my body with the sensation of his lips on mine. His hands runned through my body and his tongue entwined in mine. 

    All this eight fucking years trying to get over him, and he made all of this be in vain. I missed his touch more than I could even imagine. 

    I lost my fingers in his hair and when we both were breathless, we pulled up and just looked at each other.

    - Shit, how I missed you! - Frank said, holding my waist. - Wanna take a walk outside?

    - Sure. 

    We walked at the door, letting all the noise behind. The cold air of the night reached my face and I shivered, my mind was so confused that I barely noticed that Frank was holding my hand. 

    - So… I don't even know how to start to say how much I regret leaving you.   

    He was looking down, and I've never heard him so serious before.

    - You didn’t leave me. It was consensual. 

    - Yeah, but.. but I blame myself every day for not insisting on continuing with you. - He whined with an evident remorse in his voice. The regretful tone of his sigh was painful for me to hear.

    - Wasn’t your fault, Frank. We were both immature. - I let go of his hand and put my arm around his neck, in an attempt to comfort him. I wish someone had told me the same thing I said to Frank. After he’s gone I felt as guilty as him, and it lasted all these years. - Altrought we can try again, ‘cause we made it clear to each other that we still have mutual feelings.

    - You’re right, but how is this gonna work? - We stopped walking and Frank looked at me. His confused gaze turned sad and worried as the next words left his mouth.  - You have your life here, and my music is my life so… 

   - Maybe we can try that long distance thing… - A little unsure of what he would think of the idea, I tried to accept the only possible option for our situation. - Seeing each other when you were not on a tour, spending holidays together, calling and texting each other every day...

    - Sounds like an idea to me.

    He smiled and pulled me closer to a kiss, this time i wasn’t worried about all that shit. I let the moment ride me and a hopeful sensation warmed my body even more than Frank’s hands on my face and hips. I felt on fire when the kiss turned deeper. 

    - Are you sure that you wanna try to do this? - I broke the kiss for an instant. 

    - I’m on there, baby! 

___________________________________________

~So... that's it. lemme know if you enjoyed ;)

[trancylovecraft]

(ORIGINAL WORK) BOOK PROLOGUE: First Draft.

RECEIPT ✂- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

!!(READ ↓↓↓)!!

Hey!!! So this not my usual work but instead this is actually the first draft for the prologue of my book (Of which, I will not be giving the name of right now) I'm posting it here so I could get some feedback!

If you could read and comment down your thoughts it would be a great help! This is kind of my first actual draft for anything suppose to be professional so.. I would appreciate it a lot if you could help!

Thank you so much, And have a good day <3

"And you know what happened to her? She died out in the alley. A black eye and a busted lip with an entire round of buckshot' right in her gut."

Mother spoke with a frown, Blowing out a gust of smoke from her lips as she shook her head.

"I warned her, You know, Told her that those old dens were nothing a girl like her should be frolicking about in. Look where it got her." She lamented as she shuffled the deck in her hand, Flicking the cigarette hanging from her drying lips.

Chance sat at the small circular table tucked away at the back of the old beat up trailer. Her eyes barely able to peak over the edge, Let alone rest her little hands on the cards splayed out across the table.

Cuts and scrapes had been dug into the wood, Only illuminated by the flickering light above them which buzzed at a steady pace. Chance didn't quite understand the words Mother was saying to her, Nor did she quite understand the game that they were meant to be playing.

"Keep your cards hidden, Chance." Mother hissed once Chance tried to take a peek, Making her quickly retract her hand with a small 'sorry!' "Don't apologise either. That's nothing you should be saying when you've got something to lose."

Chance's eyes wandered over the worn chips stacked up on the table. Mother had handed some out to her and kept some for herself. Despite their condition, They still remained colourful, A stark contrast to the dingy innards of a busted up trailer Chance had found herself in.

She raised a hand, Sliding off the cards on the table, Careful not to let Mother see this time. Chance examined them closely, Her nose scrunching up. A six, A two, A three and a Nine. All of them hearts.

Mother, She almost smiled. Looking across her daughters expression.

"Your father always had a hold at any Poker table he played at, You know. He could never leave it either, Didn't even flinch when another grand went down the drain." She blew out another cloud of smoke. "Lost more than he won, That man. Though he wasn't that unique at all.."

"..If grown-ups keep losing at a game.. Why do they keep playing anyways?" Chance asked softly. Pushing herself up in her chair as she grasped the playing cards in her little hands.

"I wonder how many people have asked themselves that, Wonder how many have lost just to try again." Mother pondered as she plucked the cigarette out of her mouth. "I bet some even try to put down the cards- Stop rolling the dice or whatever the hell they do.."

She set down her cards, Her charred nails scratching at the patterns and itching to reach some cocktail that was nowhere to be seen. Her eyes narrowed, Something akin to reminiscence as she spoke.

"But over and over and over again they'll keep coming back because of that little miniscule chance that they'll win big- That they might win it all." Mother scoffed under her rancid breath. "They never do, Mind you. Out of a thousand people only one will ever come out of the slot machines a happy man, And even then that's not enough to satisfy. It's why they let you go, The casinos, 'Cause they know you'll always come crawling back."

Chance listened on, Another one of Mother's ravings, One's she often got instead of nursery rhymes. Her expression turned a little sour, Retreating back into her oversized sweater as she saw Mother smile.

"Money, Money, Money.. It's the most important thing in the entire world." It wasn't a nice smile, Not by any means. "Not friendship, Not family, Not personal happiness or whatever some rich man tries to sell you. Money. No matter what anyone tells you.. Money will always be the most important priority in someone's life."

Chance tilted her head to the side, Thinking it over for a second.

"..I don't care about money." She concluded.

"Then you're a liar, A filthy liar. That's good. That shows potential." Mother concluded, Nodding as her fingers crept down to pick up her deck again.

A baby began to cry, Shrill little squeals bouncing off the walls of the little trailer.

"The third time this night.." Mother sighed quietly, Setting down the last of her cards on the table as Asher continued to cry and wail in the background. "Go put your brother back to sleep. You seem to be better at doing that than I am."

With that, Mother shook her head before flicking the cigarette onto the old wooden flooring of the trailer, Stamping it out under her Chelsea's as Chance quickly hopped off the old stool, Quickly running over to the makeshift cot in the other side of the trailer.

The cigarette sizzled out, Burning another mark onto the old spruce of the trailer. Chance tip-toed, Lifting the young baby from out his cot and rocking him back and forth.

Mother only watched, Huffing slightly. Already slipping out another packet from her cargo pockets.

[opheliajupiter99]

PLAY Pt. 3 (OUAW Horror Fanfic)

*Hootsie before the front door, frozen, doing her best to grasp the situation she'd found herself in. As she sat there, 'papa' moved down the hall and moved to stand in front of her. It wasn't her papa, she could so clearly see that, so why did he smile as if everything was fine?!*

"Aw, come on Hootsie, don't be like dat! We got dinner all set up for the lot of us! Ya Uncle Kremy made extra special tonight." *He said cheerfully. Uncle Kremy? Did that mean there were more of these...things? She whimpered, and shook her head, pressing herself against the front door, not wanting to move from the spot, even if she knew she couldn't open it*

*'Papa' huffed, marching over to her and grabbing at one of her front paws, not roughly per say, but in a manner that made it clear he was upset, in a way she'd never seen her -real- papa be. He dragged her down the hall towards one of the far doors, and despite Hootsie being quite a bit bigger than them, and much heavier to boot, she found herself being dragged with remarkable ease*

*They went through a door into a dining room, with a long dark brown table with matching chairs lining it, a pink and white floral tablecloth draped over top of it, and a hefty pot of gumbo sat in the center. Sat at the chairs were, indeed, more of these things, copies of her real family, specifically Uncle Gideon, Aunt Twig, and Uncle Kremy just having a seat after placing down the gumbo. She didn't see Uncle Torbek or Uncle Frosty, but presumably they were around here somewhere as well*

*'Gideon' looked up towards the pair as they entered, waving to them with a big smile, his brown button eyes shining softly in the candlelight* "Well shucks howdy, look who it is! The gal of the hour!" *'Kremy' and 'Twig' looked to her as well, similarly waving cheerfully to her. She didn't wave in return, or even give a single hoot in response, shivering softly in fear and panic as her mind quietly raced as to how she could escape all of this*

*To her surprise, she found the doll-like version of her Uncle Gideon seem to notice this, his demeanor changing ever so slightly, tilting his head a bit as he lowered his hand. He was still smiling, but the smile almost seemed...a bit forced* "Hey uh, little green? Lil' one doin' alright?" *He said, 'papa's' gaze quickly snapping towards him, his smile staying firmly in place though he did stare at him rather intently for a brief moment* "Oh, she's just a bit peckish, dat's all! Come on Hootsie, let's sit down."

*Hootsie, after a moment of once again freezing where she stood, slowly took a seat, a specialized chair built to hold her weight sat there just for her. Her 'papa' sat right beside her, with Uncle Gideon across from her, his smile still seeming forced as 'Kremy' put down a bowl for her* "Came 'round just in time, still nice and hot!" *Her false uncle declared proudly, wearing a perfect mimic of her real uncle's chef apron and chef's hat*

*It seemed until she figured something out, or better yet, her family did, she'd have to play along*

-

*The real Kremy had just finished his ritual to commune with the Baron, his vision clouding as he entered a kind of trance. His sight returned to the image of an area consumed in darkness, with brief flashes of neon colors in the distance like lighting, and directly across from him, a figure shrouded from view, only the light of the cigar clutched in his teeth visible*

"Sir, I'm real sorry to bother ya, but I just gotta ask somethin' of ya. My niece, she...she's fuckin' gone! I dunno what the fuck happened, we were asleep, and she was-" *The Baron rose his arm and held out his hand, his skeletal digits becoming visible as he held up a finger in a 'shush' motion. Kremy stopped speaking immediately*

"Well, -I- know what happened. Somethin' real bad came leakin' its way outta Ghetit, and it was able ta - cause of ya!" *The Baron declared, now pointing that finger outwards towards Kremy. Kremy's eyes widened* "W-What? No, sir, I swear I didn't-" *Baron waved a hand dismissively, a loud crackle akin to thunder heard as the neon blared for a moment before subsiding* "It came through ya cane! Ya cane be a window right into Ghetit, let's ya talk to me, let's ya do ya magic, let's ya hear those damn whispers. All it had to do was climb its way right on through, when ya weren't payin' attention!"

*Kremy stood, stunned at this revelation. It wasn't that it didn't make sense; hell, the perfect sense it made was precisely what hurt him so much. He'd just never thought of it, never pondered what would happen if he left his cane unattended too long, especially in a magically charged place like the Feywild. He was usually one to dodge these kinds of things, run from guilt and responsibility for his actions, but this...this was different*

*The Baron harshly slammed the bottom of his cane against the ground, knocking Kremy out of his thoughts as a loud crackle of thunder was heard once again, followed by another flash of neon* "Don't be goin' quiet on me, boy! This be YA fault! And I swear to all the nine fuckin' hells if ya don't fix it, there'll be fire and brimstone upon the whole fuckin' lot of ya!" *He said, in an absolute rage. The Baron cared about many things, but one of the things he cared most about were children and their safety, after millennia of tending to and guiding fallen children down in Ghetit*

*Kremy felt tears sting at the corners of his eyes, still reeling from all of this. But after a moment, he took a deep breath, stood tall, and looked up at the Baron, a determined expression on his face, even as his eyes were still filled with guilt and self-loathing* "Let's make a deal then, Baron. For just...whatever we need to get her back. I don't care what I gotta pay for it. Just...just do it." *He was terrified but meant what he said. Of course, he didn't know what the Baron would ask for, and perhaps it was just his pessimistic nature that made him assume the worst, but even if it was that -particular- price, he would indeed be willing to pay it*

[thelovelywriteress]

➷ How the rain changes

▶︎ᴋɪʟʟᴜᴀ ᴢᴏʟᴅʏᴄᴋ x ғ!ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ

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(Years before)

It was raining and you and Killua was staying at his apartment.

"Quite the rain, isn't it?" You said as you sot beside the Killua who was looking outside the window. He simply nodded.

It was silent for a brief minute before you suddenly get close to Killua,"Waah-" He let out the shrink voice,"Provide me some warmth." You said as you put your head on his shoulder as Killua tried to be less embarrassed and wrapped his hands around your shoulder.

"I love this rain. It makes us come closer."

(Years later)

"Hey Killua it's raining, go and bring the clothes." You harshly order to which Killua complain if you could say it in more better way, to which you respond with harsh glare,"Yeah sure." Got to save his skin.

Grabbing clothes from the balcony, Killua stares at the dark clouds. Once how you used to love them and now all they do is make you go more annoyed.

A drop fall on Killua's face as a old memories rise in his mind.

(Years before)

Were you really his age or there was something wrong with your brain? Cause there got to be explaination you were jumping around in rain like a child.

"Killua what are you standing there for? Come!" Well if it wasn't enough, he was standing there cause he didn't want to come and drenched in rain.

It was just a stupid thing. If it was someone else, he would be judging them so badly but it was you. And no matter how stupid it was, if you enjoy it then Killua was happy too.

"Killua!" When Killua was in own thoughts, you used this moment to pulled him in rain with you and now that he was wet and couldn't even do anything about it, you laugh and spin him in rain.

Watching your smile, a laugh broke on his face too. One might take you as dumb kids for playing in rain but for you both it was most fun time of your life.

(Years after)

Killua wonder how rain changed for you, over the years. Once you used to act so happy upon seeing clouds, now all you do is yell.

"Killua come inside!" See, only yell. Killua sighed, enter back and put clothes at edge.

"Mommy where are candles?" A small boy asked and you even without turning, told them to ask Killua,"I don't know where they are." Killua quickly respond, something he should never had done. You turn towards him and pointed the exact date you buy them and told Killua to put them somewhere safe.

Even though Killua didn't remember much, he still agree to look for it. Honestly sometimes he wonder if only reason he is with you is because he is too scared too leave you.

"I know daddy, you forgot where you put them." A little girl said with a mocking expression.

Or probably because he can't leave you with these two little monsters.

Killua sighed and continue looking for candle. Electricity will be gone any moment and he needs to find it fast.

"Killua did you find-" He was too late, it was dark everywhere and for some reason kids were just screaming random things to create more choas.

(Years before)

Whenever electricity would gonna, you never do anything to light the place or even let Killua do it. All you did was just cling to his arm,"Killua~I am scared." You said in your obvious fake tone and to which Killua simply ask you to light up the area,"But I won't be able to cling to you like this then." You shameless state and grip your hands even more tighter around him.

(Years after)

"God damnit, be quiet!" I yell at these mischievous little ones. You know they weren't even scared, they were doing it for fun.

After some minutes of yelling, you finally found the candle and light it. All four members of family surround candle like some sort of insects.

"Mommy I am thirsty."

"Well take your sister and candle and drink some from kitchen. Also bring it for your father too."

You order and kids do as told. As candle's light started to fade with kids, it started to be more and more dark again. Now once again it was dark and cold-untill a hand wrapped around his arm.

"Huh?" Even though Killua couldn't see your face, he still turn his face towards in suprise,"I. . .am feeling little scared of darkness around."

If Killua could see look on your face when you softly murmured those words, he would definitely reached heaven.

Killua didn't say anything back to you nor did you said anything, quietly reminiscing about old rain memories with your hands around his arm.

How with the time rain changes for you guys yet the memories you made in it before never faded.

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short drabble. i don't know where i was going with this one.😭 was seeing a comedy show and they compare life in rain before and after rain. knew got to write it with someone. 😔☝️

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[therantsofawriterrr]

91221

Chapter Seven: I've Lived Before, Jagiya

Summary: Kang Hyunyul has had a good life since he left the Jindo gang. But when he finds out that Do Jin is going to be temporarily released, he's stressed and the return of an old flame triggers familiar feelings and with them, the old memories of the only real thing of his complicated past.

All while she was saving his life, literally putting her life on the line.

Chapter Summary: Sujin and Hyunyul find themselves in a similar situation, only this time, it's way earlier.

Warnings: Angst, mentions of violence, mention of blood and stuff, makeout scene, tell me if I missed something A/N: Alright, I want theories. What do y'all think the code means?

A stretcher.

Hospital.

Hyunyul leaning over Sujin in panic, begging her to be alright as the doctors took her to some operating room, his hand clutched in hers.

Same scene. Same cause. Only the year was different.

It's too similar.

It was the only thing she could think of as darkness clouded her vision and her hand loosened around his.

And it was the only thing they could think of as he was told to stay back and wait, having to feel her hand slide out of his.

It's all the same.

Earlier that day.

"What's going on with you these days?" Yojun asked as she wiped a table clean in the evening. The afternoon rush had just died down, leaving them an hour or two to rest.

"Nothing," she said, even as her heart fluttered. "Why?"

"You have the stupidest smile on your face," he said suspiciously. "Are you seeing someone?"

"Maybe," she teased, shrugging a shoulder just to rile him up. In her periphery, she saw him jolt and shuffle to follow her as she worked.

"Who is it? What's his name? Where's he from? Did you look into him-" he batted a hand with a firm shake of his head. "Doesn't matter, I'll look into him anyway."

"Gosh, I was just joking," she said with a chuckle. Yojun looked at her with a pointed finger.

"You better tell me when that joke turns true," he said. "People aren't trustable these days."

"In that case, I should be looking into you too," she muttered. "You're dating my friend."

He slapped a hand on his chest, feigning offense. "You've known me longer than you've known her."

"So? She's still my friend."

"You're impossible."

"That's why you love me."

"Can't deny that," he said with a sigh.

She smiled as she went into the kitchen to deposit the dirty dishes into the sink. When she came out, Kyungmi was talking to Yojun all, smiles and blushes.

When she noticed Sujin, she turned, her face all red. "But then, who's the guy you've been hanging out with, then?" She asked, obviously having heard the previous conversation.

"He's just a friend," she said, earning a side eye from the older woman.

"Yeah, okay," she said, having a silent conversation with Yojun.

Had it only been a year since they started dating? They were already acting like a married couple.

She'd been able to pay off the debt somehow. She knew that Hyunyul was only helping her because he felt guilty about what happened when they were young.

But she wasn't so sure anymore. He'd been asking to hang out with her even after that.

On one hand, she was cautious, she was careful about opening up around him. But on the other hand, her heart got faster every time she thought about him.

So, basically... she wasn't cautious at all. But she was still confused why he called her now and then, asking her if she was free.

Her phone rang at the moment, and she got it out to see his name.

"Hey, are you free right now?" He asked, his voice soft as it filtered through the speaker.

"I guess," she said, looking around at the empty spaces. "For an hour, at least."

"Nice," he said enthusiastically. "I've been needing the coffee."

And just like that, they both were sitting at a table, drinking their coffee.

Hyunyul liked the silence he had with Sujin. He'd been craving it every time he was at work.

Though, it wasn't just the silence he craved.

He craved her.

Her company. Her food. The conversations. Just her, in all her glory.

Her hair had gotten longer, now reaching till her upper back. His own hair was reaching till his neck, just blindly following whatever trend was going on at the moment. The way his barber styled it was nice though.

Her sigh brought his attention back to her. He followed her gaze to the couple at the end. Then, he couldn't help but watch her, as her face lit up, because god help him, that's what her smile did.

Had he somehow missed her so much in the two days he hadn't seen her? So much that he couldn't help but think that she'd somehow gotten prettier?

Nahh, she's been like this since that last payment, remember?

That was true. She'd put up an offer on the coffee that evening. She'd probably been sleeping better since then.

It was when he'd felt that he was in too deep. That he needed to put some distance. For her and for himself.

He couldn't let it play out like last time again. Not this time.

But then, he couldn't stay away either. Every time he decided that he wouldn't meet for a week, it was like his eyes itched from the inside to see her.

Memories flashed through his mind again, the stuff that he had nightmares about.

...

"You played me, didn't you? You used me for my money."

"No! Just listen to me, Jagiya-"

"I've heard enough, Sujin. I don't even know why I trusted you again. It was you who told Dojin it was me, wasn't it?"

...

91221.

"Hey! Get away from her!"

"Sujin! No, no, no, please, no, Sujin, stay with me, okay?"

"Jagiya... I'm sorry..."

...

"You have to stay outside, sir, you can't come in here!"

...

"We tried everything we can, I'm very sorry for your loss..."

...

"Hyunyul," Sujin's firm voice broke into his mind. She was peering at him with concern. He just pasted on a smile and nodded, gulping down his coffee.

Her head tilted in suspicion, but she didn't push further.

He looked at her again, wondering what the numbers meant. She never did tell him.

She was busy dying, you dumb idiot.

He let out a chuckle, even if it was barely funny. And then, with a sigh, he ran a hand through his hair.

He finished his coffee and stood up, wanting to exit, but, he stopped when he felt Sujin grab his wrist. He looked back at her and was surprised to see her so... uncertain.

Hesitant.

"I... wanted to tell you something," she said, her palm getting clammy around his wrist.

They both went up to her house and sat beside each other on the couch, as she fiddled and he waited.

"What is it?" He asked softly after ten minutes went by. Her anxiety only worsened, her knee starting to bounce.

He placed a hand on her knee, prompting her to stare at it, and then at him. And he was caught in the dark depths of her eyes as his breath hitched.

He didn't know who moved first. But someone did, because their lips were joined. Her hand clutched his hair as his hand on her knee went to her other thigh, pulling her on top of him.

It was heavenly, getting to touch her like this again. To get to kiss her like this again. Like they both had the oxygen the other needed to live.

Their hands roamed as their kiss got intense, tongues clashing against each other. Then, it got slow. It got intimate and lazy, the way they'd kiss when they had time, just soft lips devouring each other.

How could he ever think he could stay away from her? He couldn't even think of parting for breath.

When they finally did part to breathe, there was a grin on both their faces. Sujin's was a bit more shy, as she touched her fingertips to her lips in disbelief.

Again, he watched her, as she started to debate internally and gave her a peck on the lips. She looked at him with surprise in her eyes.

"Oh, come on," he whispered against her lips. "Just let it be. Don't ruin it for yourself."

After some more time of just kissing, he started to leave.

It was very reluctant, but it was important. They didn't talk about it, they didn't stop to think just how the dynamic had changed.

They just let it be.

♬♩♪♩ ♩♪♩♬

That night, his phone let out a loud ringtone just as he had started to lull into sleep.

He picked it up, his eyes groggy. At first he didn't really understand the message, but when his mind finally processed it, his blood went cold.

No. No. Not again.

The numbers on the screen were the same as last time.

91221.

He flew out of bed and put on his shirt, running to the door as he tried to call Sujin.

He wasn't going to lose her again.

Likes, reblogs and comments are highly appreciated!! Thanks for reading 💙💙💙

[bleachanimefan1]

Ever Realm Part 7

A Way Back,

Sofia walked in the hall of the castle heading to Roland's study to find him talking to Baileywick. She smiled and walked over to him. Ronald was at his desk signing some papers and documents.

"Morning dad! What are you doing?" She asked her father. She noticed that he had been looking a little stressed out lately. It was the price of being a king.

"There's been a couple of theft lately in the past few days. It only happens at night and the only thing that's left is a black feather." King Roland told Sofia. 

"A black feather?" Sofia murmured to herself. It couldn't be Wormwood, Cedric's raven. He's locked up in jail with Prisma when Vor tried to take over the kingdom. So who could it be?

Roland got out of his chair and stood up and walked around the desk to Sofia. "I know that this is hard but want you to stay in the castle until this whole matter is taken care of. I've already told Amber and James about it as well. You can still play with your friends but when it's starts to get dark, I want you to come straight home." He told her, placing his hand on Sofia's shoulder. Sofia nodded.

"Okay, dad." 

Roland smiled and walked out with Baileywick to discuss other matters, leaving Sofia to wonder to herself. What was causing the robberies? She headed to Elora's room to check in on her. 

"Hey, Elora, are you in?" Sofia asked about to knock on the door when she heard Elora let out a scream.

"Not again! Why does this keep happening!?"

Sofia immediately opened the door to see what was wrong.

"Are you okay? I heard you scream!" the princess exclaimed. Sofia blinked in surprise when she saw Elora sitting on her bed, looking completely frazzled. The bed sheets were messily tossed all over, hanging over the side of the bed. She was surrounded by many jewels, gold coins, jewelry, and other shiny trinkets, almost like a nest. Elora quickly looked up when she noticed Sofia had barged into her room.

"It's not what it looks like, I swear!"

"Really? Then what's all of this?" Sofia frowned, questioning her. She didn't want to jump to conclusions, but the evidence was plain just as day. "Where did you even get all of this jewelry?" Elora wouldn't steal from them, would she? Why would she, if she helped drove those monsters away from the festival. Something wasn't adding up.

"I don't know! It's been happening for a couple of days now. I wake up and find myself in them." Elora insisted. "I am not a thief!"

Sofia walked over to her and took Elora's hands. "I don't think you did it. We'll get to bottom of this. Let's go talk to Mr. Cedric about this. He might be able to help." Elora nodded before paused.

"What about the, um..." and gestured towards the treasure pile on her bed. 

"We won't tell anyone for now, but we need to catch the thief tonight. Hide it under the bed and I'll tell the cleaning maids not to come in." Sofia told her. Elora quickly put the shiny trinkets under the bed, getting rid of the evidence. When she was about to get up, Elora noticed a black feather, lying on the floor and picked it up. 

"Sofia, look at this." She showed it to the princess. Sofia's eyes widened, seeing it.

"A black feather? The same as the one's left behind from the robberies." She spoke.

The two quickly headed towards Cedric's workshop, walking up the spiral stairs. Sofia knocked on the sorcerer's door.

"Mr. Cedric, are you in? We need to talk to you!" 

There was a loud boom, which sounded like an explosion, startling the two girls. Elora slowly opened the door, seeing a dark cloud of smoke. As it cleared, Cedric was standing in front of them, covered in soot and goo, coughing. Sofia and Elora quickly ran over to him.

"Are you alright?" Sofia asked him, concerned. Cedric grabbed a cloth from his desk and wiped off the grime from his face.

"I really need to get a sign, so I won't be disturbed." Cedric replied.

"Here. Let me help you a little." Elora spoke and she pointed her staff at Cedric. The goo and soot instantly disappeared, from his robes and clothes, cleaning Cedric up.

"Wow, that's a handy trick." Cedric spoke, smiling a little.

"Thanks." Elora smiled back and looked around the workshop. "So, this is your workshop, where the magic happens?"

"Yes. Shall I give you a tour?" Cedric asked her. Elora's eyes widen a little and blushed.

"Um..." She couldn't speak, getting a little tongue tied. "Maybe another time? There's something important we need to tell you."

"Mr. Cedric, there's a reason why we're here. It's about the robberies that's been happening lately." Sofia spoke.

"I've heard about it." Cedric said. "What is it that you need?"

Sofia and Elora told Cedric what had happened, and the treasure pile found this morning and showed him the feather that they had found in Elora's room. Cedric took it from Elora.

"Sounds like your thief might be a bird. That, or maybe you sleepwalk?"

"I don't sleepwalk." Elora told him.

"And how do you know that?" Cedric pointed out.

"I just know that I don't." Elora told him.

"And why Elora? The feather? It doesn't make sense." Sofia asked him.

Elora was silent for a moment, thinking to herself. "I think a have a plan, if you two will help me."

"What is it?" Sofia asked her.

"Would you two stay in my room tonight and watch over me in my sleep? Maybe we'll catch whoever is causing this." Elora told them.

"Okay." Sofia smiled. Cedric nodded.

Nighttime had fallen and the three had set up a trap to catch the culprit. Cedric had conjured up a magical cage to catch anyone other than them who comes into the room. One time, Baileywick had come in to check in on everyone. Elora quickly moved him out of the way before he was caught. Before everyone turned in, Sofia noticed that Elora had gotten up and started to walk towards the window.

"Elora, what are you doing?" She asked her.

"I always sleep with the window open. It makes me feel better." Elora told her. 

"Oh." Sofia blinked. Elora headed back to her bed and laid down. 

"Good night, you two." Elora told Sofia and Cedric. Sofia and Cedric took turns watching over Elora over the night. Hours had seemed to have gone by and nothing had happened. Eventually, Sofia and Cedric both had fallen asleep. Then everyone was wakened up suddenly by a loud bang when the magical cage had slammed down to the floor. Elora quickly shot up, grabbing her staff. She casted a light spell, illuminating the room. Sofia, Cedric and Elora quickly went over to the cage and Cedric lifted it up with his wand. Something dark quickly darted out and flew around the room and landed on the bed canopy. 

"A crow?" Sofia wondered. The crow squawked and only Sofia can hear what the bird was saying. 

"Mama! I've found you!" It quickly flew at Elora, flying straight at her. It crashed into her chest, nuzzling Elora.

"At least we know that you're friendly. That's a good thing." Elora smiled.

"It definitely seems to know you." Cedric pointed out. The crow continued to squawk.

"I've been looking everywhere for you! Everyone said that you were dead, but I didn't believe them!"

"So, what's your name?" Sofia asked the bird. The crow blinked at her in surprise.

"Wait a minute, you can understand me? And I can understand you! How?" They asked. Sofia nodded, smiling.

"My amulet lets me talk to animals." She told them before she stepped back when she noticed the crow eyeing her necklace.

"It sparkles and shimmers with delight. I must have it for my nest!" The crow quickly flew at Sofia, trying to grab her amulet. Cedric quickly stood in between them, swatting the bird away from her. Elora quickly placed her fingers to her lips and whistled. The crow immediately stopped, hovering over Sofia and Cedric and flew back towards Elora, landing on her head.

"Sorry, Mama. I couldn't help it."

"How did you know to do that?" Cedric asked her. Elora shrugged.

"Instinct, I guess." She told him. Sofia stepped out from behind Cedric, covering her amulet.

"It's okay, but who are you and how do you know Elora?" She asked.

"My name is Koa. And who is this Elora? This is my mom! We've known each other since I was a baby bird! She found me!" 

"He says his name is Koa." Sofia told Elora and Cedric.

"Koa." Elora spoke, repeated the name. A memory flashed in front of her eyes of herself when she was little. She had found a baby bird with a broken wing and nursed it back to health. It had stayed by her side, never leaving her. Elora's eyes widen, looking at the bird in her hands, immediately remembering. She hugged the bird.

"Koa! I remember now! My baby!" She cried. Koa squawked, happily, nuzzling her face. "How could I ever forget you!"

Sofia and Cedric watched the two, smiling to themselves. 

"Let's tell dad that we caught the culprit and return back everything that was stolen." Sofia spoke.

"That's sounds great." Elora replied before she glanced down at the bird in her hands. "Wait a minute..."

"What is it?" Cedric asked her.

"If Koa found me all the way here then maybe he knows where my home is. Alereus. He can lead me back."

Sofia and Cedric eyes widen. They had already grown attached to the elven woman, since she came to them, particularly, Cedric. He had to admit it he had grown rather fond of Elora. She was a very powerful and beautiful sorceress. He wanted to know more about her and her home, Alereus. Was it like magical like Enchancia, with different creatures as well?

"You're not alone in this. If you like, we can accompany you back." Cedric spoke. Elora blinked and looked at him, surprised.

"Yeah! I can go and tell my dad and he can set up the arrangements for the trip." Sofia said as well. 

"You don't have to do this. It could be dangerous. I don't want to see both get hurt because of me, especially when I know that those lava creatures were sent after me."

"I think we can handle it. Since we have a great sorcerer with us." Sofia told Elora and smiled at Cedric. Cedric smiled at her. "And with you, it'll be double protection."

Elora smiled and nodded. She didn't want to part away from them yet, as well. Who knows, maybe this will be even more fun, now that she has company on the journey.

"I'd like that."

[life-love-and-lotr]

@chaos-in-bright-pink-hair-dyes Killjoys Week 2023 Day 2- Smoke

Smoking was banned within Battery City. It was considered an unclean pastime that only damaged the lungs of its hardworking citizens. But Frank had already decided that scarred lungs were worth the freedom he felt when smoking, so made his weekly trip to the black market to buy a packet.

This time the trip took 10 times longer than it usually did due to the abnormal drac patrols polluting the streets. It wasn't unusual to see the masked figures, but the sheer numbers were concerning. The only time that they came down in such numbers was when there was a break-in (or out) in the middle of the city. And that always ended in chaos.

Frank pondered the mystery as he walked, taking his time to not get caught. He ended up in the familiar warehouse that held the market. Illegal weapons, android parts, and medications, all ready for purchase. The target for Frank was a man who only went by the name Horseshoe Crab. His attire, an all red ensamble complete with top hat, made it pretty obvious that he was a killjoy. A killjoy who always had a knack for getting out of sticky situations. If anyone here knew what had happend, it would be him.

"Hey Horseshoe. Were you the reason why there are so many drac patroles out? Seems like something you would do."

The older man, looking mockingly shocked at the accusation, stuck his hands in the air in defeat.

"What do you mean? I would never do anything to rile up the pigs. How very dare you. Seriously though, it wasn't any of the Suitehearts. From what I heard, two of the top Scarecrows sons just escaped the city. They have become true killjoys now. Good for them thats what I think. Anyway, want your usual?"

Frank had to blink away the sudden reilisation from his eyes. His mother had two brothers come through her transition house just two days ago. They looked too clean and scared half to death. The youngest didnt look much older than 8, the oldest being the same age as Frank. She had shooed him away from the room when helping them, then sent them away faster than most. She must have known how important they were.

"Thanks. Hey, tell Doctor B we might need more medication. That breakout is gonna cause hell on the voluenteers. And I know mom will wanna be prepared when shit hits the fan"

"Will do. Be careful out there. They are getting more dangorus every passing day. Wouldn't want to bury my best customer now would I?"

Frank did his best to squirm his way out of Horse Shoes inevitable head rub, messing up his sholder-length hair. No matter how hard he tried to be a sarcastic asshole, he always ended up just being a true Suiteheart.

"You to. I don't wan't my favourite dealer to go completly out the window do I?"

After handing the credits over Frank left, a single pack of cigarettes in his hand. He waited until he got to his usual quiet smoking place before pulling one out. He was able to climb through a slot in the wall surrounding the city and perch upon the top. It looked out onto the desert, a beautiful sandy expanse that Frank could only dream of getting to. Just like the two mystery boys.

As he lit the cigarette, he thought about them. How they were just left to learn the desert on their own. He worried about them as the length of the nic stick shortened. And as the final smoke cloud breifly covered his view, he considered what it would be like if he left. Nobody would care enough to send an army to bring him back and he sure as hell wouldn't have a transition house to go through. His mum would string him up by the neck if he even asked to leave.

A sudden noise pulled Frank away from his contemplation. He didn't even get the chance to stamp out his cigarette before his vision flashed white. As he was pulled away from the safest place he knew, the packet fell to the floor. The last reminder of the boy he used to be

[battle-bond-gone-wrong]

[Sparks crouched down in an attacking stance in front of Jason, who was attempting to do the same.]

Alright, you wanna stand like this, like this, right?

Mhm...!

Cool, now you wanna feel the power running through your body! You have to REALLY feel it! You have to charge up to super-duper full power!

Grrgh-!

When you know you have enough, you have to let it out, in one huge burst! Like BA-BA-BA-BAAAANG!!! And cracka-BOOM! And a good ol' flash-POW for good measure!

[To demonstrate his point, Spark's body crackled with electricity, before a bolt of lightning fell from the clouds above them, striking himself with an ear-splitting Thunder.]

Samu-ROOOOT!

Sparks, do you mind telling me WHAT IN THE NAME OF THE UNIVERSES you were trying to do to Jason?!

Yeah, Mr. Sparks. It looks really fun! And your attack was so cool, too!

W-Well, I- um... Er...

I, uh... Hey, this is Sammy's fault for saying that he's basically a Pokemon now!

How does your tomfoolery fall on me?! I've been referring to him as a damn-near wild Pokemon for months now, and he's been called that even longer!

See? You never said that he can't learn moves! And I wanted to teach him Thunder, the same way he taught me Lightning Blade!

Sparks, you idiot...

Why would I have to say outright that he can't learn moves? Above all else, beyond anything else, he's still a HUMAN, Sparks. And he would share a Samurott's mindset, if nothing else! I have no way to learn Electric-type moves, and he wouldn't by proxy!

He's able to do that cool glowey thing with me... Maybe it's not you-specific.

Not helping, Lexi.

See, New Girl gets it! If it applies to him, why not us?!

Nope. I'm not having this. I'm not speaking to the same Jolteon that caused Jason- No, caused ALL of us to get embarrassed by Elesa. SEVERAL TIMES, mind you.

And we kept spinning the block, better than you ever could! And it wasn't like I was benched each and every time~!

Mr. Fluffy, the BABY, got more action than you could ever dream of!

And you weren't replaced by Cyclone during the battle with Clay?

I'm sorry, who?... OHH, you meant the Swoobat.

Dude, Driver carried that fight, NONE of us were needed.

I was!

Did that human mind of yours make you a bumbling fool?

Brother in Mew, you were a "If crap hits the fan" 'Mon at BEST, in that battle!

And I was THERE! Unlike YOU!

[The pair continued to bicker like an angry couple for about an hour, with Lexi's occasional failed attempts to break it up.]

[ranaitsan]

i had to call him sensei!- chp 19

where am I? Why is it dark in here! What is this door? Where does it lead? As usual, I opened the door without realizing the dangers of doing so, and a warm breeze hit me and a strong, golden light shone! It's a lovely warm feeling! It's sunshine! Beautiful green meadow and blue sky decorated with white clouds! This is magical! Is that a tree? It's a beautiful big tree! I see that some people are sitting under it. I will approach him and ask them where we are! Maybe they have an idea how I got here!

I approached them. There was a group of people sitting around someone as if they were listening to his lecture. I approached them a little and then asked them, calling them:

hey! Can you tell me where we are?

The person in the middle turned around and smiled at me, then motioned for me to approach him! His red hair looks familiar! I approached it cautiously when suddenly winds blew, carrying with it black ash. The beautiful world I was seeing evaporated, and flames appeared everywhere, a black sky, and everything burning. Then burnt and torn bodies appeared, piled on top of each other, with a person sitting on his knees in front of them. It's…it's the same person who was under the tree but his face is bleeding, he's familiar! No sooner had he looked at me than a scary ghost attacked me!

And so I woke up panting to discover that it was a dream, rather it was a confused and terrifying nightmare, but… where am I! This is not my room at home with the inventor! It's kind of like one of the rooms of that palace in Althus Paris. Moment! Altos! Ruthven! He had attacked me! And Noy attacked! Am I dreaming now! I can't dream unless I'm alive! If I were alive, what actually happened to me? What happened to Noe!! If I wasn't dreaming, why am I here!!

While I was deep in thought, the one who caused this chaos appeared! It's Ruthven standing next to a bed!

Hey… what are you planning to do?

You seem to remember everything! You never stop surprising me!

He looked at me with a piercing look and red eyes, and my heart suddenly beat violently, painfully, as if a bullet had penetrated it and paralyzed me again. I felt suffocated, as if he was tying my neck with a rope. I remembered for a moment that this feeling was similar to when that mark appeared on my neck in the cafe. Is this because of his powers!!! He grabbed my arm and pushed me violently onto the bed, tightening his grip on my arm and I was helpless and unable to confront him:

What are you planning?

Who are you? You have strange powers! You was able to break the Queen's Fang formula as well as my fire formula! You can match the speed of a high-class vampire! The curse barely worked, and on top of that, you can still remember the oath! Who are you! I order you to disclose everything!

It's a curse then! he's the reason my body goes crazy! So I can't control my body! And he can paralyze me! And again my mouth moved to say everything!

No, I don't know, because I have no memories of this body before I woke up in it! I don't know who I am! And who is the owner of this body?

What do you mean before you wake up?

Oh, my God! He's forcing me to talk. I should be silent! I mustn't reveal everything! I must resist! Resist! Don't tell him everything!!!

I don't know! I suddenly woke up to find myself on the street! I didn't know who I was! And where am I!

How long has that been going on?

Almost five years

So you would like to say that you have no memory of what happened to you five years ago that you have lived until now, and you do not remember anything, even if it was a small sign! What about the smell of your blood? How did you know about it, how did you get the necklace, and where?

I was attacked many times by vampires, and I complained about this to one of our customers, and he sold me the necklace.

Did he explain to you the reason for the smell of your blood?

No, just tell me that the reason they attacked me was because of the smell of my blood

Who was this customer?

He's an alchemist!

What makes you claim to be human?

I cannot write or see formulas, and my eyes are not affected by hunter bombs that confuse the sight of vampires! I don't feel like drinking blood!

My resistance is of no use. I can barely hold in some words! I have to turn the situation around, I have to stop him from interrogating me! What will he do to me after he finishes interrogating me! He will kill me! But if he wanted to, he would have forced me to swear to tell him everything then and kill me! But he made my services unlimited by swearing to obey all his orders! It's a lifetime contract!

Your resistance is futile! Although this is confusing too, child! Your matter is controversial!

What-what are you planning!? Are you for or against vampires!? I don't know who you are! But your actions are suspicious as a member of the Senate! When you tried to assassinate Mr. Luca! Why would you help that deranged doctor!? Why did you send those charlatans to steal my invention! What is your relationship with Nenya!!!

You're not the only one who has several questions! Either now or never chance I know in the future! If I live!!! He grabbed my neck violently and said:

It seems that you have more doubts and accusations than you should, little girl! But your hostility is useless!

He bit me again and started drinking my blood! It's painful and numbing, it makes me feel uncomfortable! I hate this situation! It's insulting! And my body also responds to this in a strange way! I'm making strange noises! It's actually shameful! I try to suppress it but it comes out against my will! And after I lost my ability to speak, he whispered in my ear:

It's no use, you're my pawn now! I order you not to reveal anything about me! Forget what you lived through in the past five years! Starting from today you will live here! As my student! remember this!

what! What is he saying! Student! for whom! I hate him! I hate this! I am his prisoner! I can not resistance! Helpless! I hate this!

My feelings of hatred disappeared along with my sense of reality after that! I lost consciousness after I heard his orders! I have been his prisoner since today! I hate him so much! I won't let him get away with this!